The Power Within
by Pandoradoomer
Summary: As Ludo stole the Butterfly's family prized possession, the spell-book. Star must now be taught by a mysterious figure,whose origin is unknown, but whose power level exceeds that of many of the royal line. He, however possesses a secret, that no one has ever found out...
1. An unusual encounter

Star had just come to the bitter realization that her spell book had been stolen and gone for good, right as the portal she conjured had collapsed just before her very eyes. The sorrow she felt in her heart, as Glossaryck stood there impassible while she was reaching out to him, was unbearable… Marco just entered the smaller cave, as small dirt pebbles turned to boulders falling from the ceiling, as the boy shouted:

"Star, we gotta go, the cave is about to…" he couldn't finish his sentence as the blonde girl, already left…

Turning his back to the now covered entrance to the small room, Star had gone to, in order for her spellcasting to be her only focus, he saw his friend sobbing, faint sighs leaving her mouth. For a split second he didn't know what should he do, but then, instinctively he remembered all the times he was down in the dumps, and she helped him get back on track. Marco, slowly walked towards her, and with a loud thump, he threw himself right next to her. For a second, her crying stopped only for a painful moaning voice to say:

"I messed up, Marco…"

"Well, I am sure we can fix things, like we always do…"

"You know, what?" she said suddenly getting up, a broad genuine smile crossing her face. "I made my mistakes, now I just have to repair them, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Marco nodded scratching the back of his head in slight disbelief.

"Great, then, let's go," she said grabbing her dimensional scissors and cutting a hole through that reality, back to the Diaz household.

There was something, unknown to them. The whole event had been overlooked by someone… None other than the King and Queen, alongside a mysterious figure, one who had never been seen before. Not, very tall, about the size of our mignon King, perhaps an inch or two over his head, but with an imposing look, nonetheless. Neither royal figure was able to see his face, nor hear anything, as he was just standing there silent and sturdy, while his foot was beating a very unsettling rhythm on the marble floor. No one was able to make a sound, until…

"You saw that, right?"

Without hesitation, the Queen answered:

"Of course, I didn't turn blind overnight. What is your point?"

"The same point the evaluation tomorrow will tell you as well. That your daughter's skill level is superior to that of yours, and is only rivaled but that whose name you wished to exclude from the spell book."

"And how is everything you say valid?" the Queen replied with a hint of hatred in her voice.

"You don't know who I am, do you now?"

"You stormed into my castle, plucked yourself in this room and stared blankly on a window for twenty minutes. I pretty much want to throw you out in the garden then blast you off, but since you managed to sneak past all my guards, I am intrigued and wish to hear you out, before you will take your leave."

"Good, then take a sit, madam."

"I prefer to stand up, thank you,"

"I knew you would say that…" with a swift hand gesture, a chair appeared in the room, and the Queen was shoved, gently albeit, on it.

"Oh, I see you know the ways of magic," she exclaimed, her surprise being masked by her royal apparent apathy. "Are you a fellow mewman?"

"I am, and I am not at the same time. But that is not about me, right now. It is about your daughter. Gaze upon this improved All-Seeing Eye spell, it can be manipulated to show past time events. I will show you something not written in any of your fancy spell books." The arrogance in his voice was involuntary, but it still was sensed by the Queen, who frowned ever so slightly. The King remained oblivious to the situation and soon left the lounge to perform one of his seemingly mindless tasks.

"What are you going to show me…?"

"If you're asking for my name, you will get it, but after I made my point across."

"I am waiting, stranger."

"Even, Star, who is a lot stronger than you has difficulty in making this happen, let alone control it, so mind giving me some time to spare? We have plenty left."

"What are you exactly doing?" the Queen asked, while our mystery man was shaking his hand, trying to fast forward clips, on an unseen screen.

"Done!" he suddenly exclaimed, as a purple haze suddenly formed, having a yellow eye in its center. The eye, opened to reveal a scene that the Queen knew nothing off… Star was watching through a spell, similar to the one she was being spied through. She was dismayed, as she saw Marco and Jackie were having a good time, as they shared a skateboard. Her look turned from sadness to grief to jealousy as, with a seemingly involuntarily spell cast, she had popped one of the wheels causing them to fall. The screen then paused.

"That's it?" the Queen asked, a bit annoyed.

"Call it exhibit A. I also have an exhibit B, are you interested in it?"

"Frankly…I am not. You have yet to show me anything comprehensive or worth analyzing. So, unless your wish is to be painfully ejected from this castle, I would advise you to leave now."

"Your threats do not scare me, and besides, this is not about you, this is about Star. So you have a choice to make what is best for your daughter, or make what is worse."

"How, dare you barge into my castle, take my precious time and then, perhaps worst of all, criticizing my parenting which has been nothing but world class this whole time?" As her rage build up, she was slowly morphing into her six armed, winged form. After reaching the pinnacle of her change, her anger had also hit its maximum. As if she were to chase away a fly, the same motion was used to conjure a force pulse whose force was immense…Enough to break the glass chandelier into millions of pieces and shatter all the windows, while the sturdy table, fell to the ground, broken. As the sawdust settled, so did the Queen. She landed on the same chair she was shoved in, earlier. A short gasp exited her immovable emotionless lips, as her force pulse left the boy unscathed.

"Yes, are you done channeling your anger into a destructive form? I can also be eloquently official as you are, and I am perfectly able of annoying you more and more. Now, my question to you is, will you be able to commemorate your years of complete apathy and stay put as I expose my final bit of… footage, or you will let yourself be consumed by this tragically unroyal and wayward rage until there is nothing left of your castle apart from that indestructible chair I summoned?"

"I…" she was barely holding back her anger, but in the end with a heavy sigh, she accepted her "fate".

"Now, look at this sucking portal, your daughter had created. It's perfect, it's doing its job of well…sucking Ludo, as that little pet is known as, but look what happens, when the same characters come back in the scene…The spell is set out of balance, and it backfires, letting Ludo go free and steal her book, while she is struggling to not be thrown into the void. Now, do you understand the point of my quote unquote presentation?"

"That you are a sad little boy, who spied on my daughter in order to find meaningless fodder to fill my precious time with?"

"Yes, thank you for the condescendence, I appreciate that you believe you're so much smarter than I am. But here is where you are wrong. Let me ask you a question. Eclipsa is said to have been the most powerful out of the entire royal line. Have you really, never stopped to wonder why?"

"No one knows why she was the best of all, but…"

"This is because you are so stuck up you can't accept she had found out the way you are so keen on inhibiting. You've come to the point of even creating a school that destroys emotions and transforms royalty in lifeless husks, devoid of any sort of feeling whatsoever. And your daughter is the living example that this is wrong. She had become stronger than ever, by using her emotions to empower her spells and this is involuntary. Now, Eclipsa figured this out and used it to do… what I know you have engraved in your brain. She was evil, and of course her spells were powered by hatred, but your daughter is not. She is brave, kindhearted, generous, helpful and what-not, but… she has her shortcomings…"

"I don't have to hear that twice…"

"Save your mean comments for when you managed to cause harm upon me, not to your living quarters. Now, her shortcomings are not what they appeared. Her apparent lack of skill is… just that…for show. She has a certain style which she mastered, and due to its spontaneity, it's completely unpredictable, therefore uncounterable. Now, she has never felt anything…poisonous to her soul. Yes, sadness, grief, angst and anger are things every individual had felt, these are not bad. They form character. But… envy, wrath, gluttony, lust… you know those 7 things…are. And since she had felt jealousy towards that girl, she had lost her purity."

"I see where you are going, but I see no reason to lengthen this conversation any further. Your point has been made across. What do you suggest?"

"Star has been left with no instructor, as Glossaryck was kidnapped alongside that book. Allow me to go there and take his place."

"Humph…" The Queen looked surprised. She got up from her seat, and started pacing towards the broken window. She stared at the setting sun in the distance, as she seemed too preoccupied over that last sentence…

"You came here, uninvited from God knows where. You had barged in my room, and lectured me about my parenting and magic skills. You had arrogantly presented meaningless facts and wasted my time… You had presented me things I hate to admit I didn't know and wasn't interested in knowing. And this is only to…ask the permission to teach my daughter how to cast spells more efficiently? Why?"

"As mean-spirited as I may seem, and as disrespectful as I may seem towards royalty, I do care about little things like this. I also didn't want you to send an entire army of magical forces after you would've found out that a mysterious magic being showed up to the door of the Diaz household…"

"True. That is an action I would've considered. Now, I give you my permission,..."

"Still asking me for my name, right?"

"This is the first question, the second would be who and what exactly are you, and the last would be why are you doing this?"

"Scott, a regular human, whose parents were far from regular, and I do this, because of my history. Now, since you had bestowed upon me your permission, I shall take my leave. Let me remind you that you wanted just answers, that I had delivered, however incomplete. Goodbye, Queen."

"Aren't you going to need a pair of dimensional scissors?"

"I have gained enough experience to render Hekapoo's forging useless." After he had finished talking, a portal instantaneously appeared right beside him. As he stepped into it, one last line escaped his seemingly conceited mouth.

"And even while I am destroying one of the Council's members lifetime work…Star still surpasses me by a long shot. Also, sorry for your room. I will call it my bad."

He waved goodbye and as the portal closed, the Queen sighed with relief.

"Please, at least let him set my daughter straight…"

She laid defeated and exhausted as if the life was sucked out of her by this strange encounter… With a heavy heart she sat down on her new chair, contemplating the disaster her own hot-headedness had caused. Suddenly, she felt a slight breeze fill the chamber, but she attributed it to the broken window. However, the slight breeze soon developed into a real hurricane inside the room, making her unable to see what was happening. As sudden as it brewed up, as soon it died out. The Queen's living quarters were left as if anything ever happened. A small remainder still left. A little note was dancing in the wind. It read:

"I heard that…"

Loud knocks were resonating in the empty living room.

"I'll get it," Star yelled as she slid on the railway all the way down. She opened the door, slamming it on the wall.

"Hello, there mysterious stranger, what is your purpose on this planet?" she asked in the voice of a strangled man, trying to sound witty.

"Well, Star Butterfly, my purpose is to teach you how to better control your spell-casting."

"Woah, straight to it…"

"Who is it?" Marco asked from the kitchen?

"Just a boy who says is here to replace Glossaryck and help continue my training."

In an instant Marco appeared in the room, checking the weird looking stranger. For him, anyone who wore a jacket, leather or black anything was suspicious looking.

"Who are you again?"

"Hello, Marco…" Scott said in the calmest tone anyone could've pulled out.

"He knows my name…" he said nervously." How does he know my name?" he turned to Star.

"I don't know…" she said in a childish muffled tone, sounding like a scared girl from a horror movie cabin.

"Look, I don't want to make things weird or anything. Your mother was worried now that you have been left without a spell-book and sent me here to help you catch up. If you want to know more about me, I will be glad to sit down and answer all your questions."

"Good, because I have a lot of them…let me get a notebook."

Those words were fatidic… Two hours of meaningless questions later…

"Great, you know my measurements, my preference in dressing, my likes and dislikes, my favorite food…How about you ask something meaningful for once?"

"Hey, all that I've asked is meaningful. It creates your profile…" Marco jumped defensively.

"Yes, but unfortunately I am here to teach Star magic, not to enroll on a dating site…Now, Star I've noticed you didn't say a thing in over… Oh, look, two hours and a quarter…Any questions?"

An awkward silence followed. No one was saying a thing, mainly because Marco was trying to find a better comeback, or to find out another meaningless question, as Star was half dozing off, half paying attention to the little unicorns flying on top of her room, and zero percent paying attention.

"Star?" Scott asked in a demanding, yet somewhat soothing tone.

"Wha…?" She replied as if she just woke up.

"Do you have any questions about me and my, as you funnily put it, purpose here?"

"Nah, I am a learn-as-you-go kind of person. Just shoot straight." She talked in a very changing tone, from amused, to a careful whisper of an edgy person… It was lovely to hear.

"Great, then mind if I perform a test right away?" Scott asked, seeming a little impatient.

"No, problemo," she swiftly answered.

"Great, Marco would you mind leaving us alone for this?"

"Oh…no, I don't even know that much about you, I am NOT leaving you alone with my friend. For all I know you would kidnap her and turn her in to a Quest Buy sloth for cotton candy," Marco exclaimed, as Scott smiled to himself, seeing the glint of hope in Star's eyes.

"Ok, then, mind sitting near that wall, we need a lot of empty space. You can supervise everything that happens, is that going to be ok?"

"Fine…" he was still visibly uncertain of Scott's intentions, so, with a frown, he accepted his position in this encounter.

"Now, Star, I would like you to cast a simple spell, not like that you had to cast at your evaluation…"

"How do you…" Marco started his annoying question, but was cut off by Scott:

"Please, save your questions for the end, I will gladly answer them then, ok?"

"Fine…" he retreated pouting.

"Ok, what should I do? " Star innocently asked.

"Conjure a portal, as you did before, trying to hide things from your evaluator. I can see you raising an objection Marco, please keep it in you."

"Just a portal, okay, easy-peasy."

With a few swift flick of her wand, she created the portal, Scott asked for. As she was focusing on keeping it stable, Scott started projecting images in front of her.

"Now I am going to test your reaction to different stimuli, it means images in case you're wondering. Just focus on keeping the portal open, ok?"

His slideshow was simple. A picture of a kitten, a picture of her mother, then one of Ludo, one of Buff Frog…It was a slideshow of everything Star had interacted with and for which she expressed affection or hatred. As the images never seemed to end, Star was visibly getting bored…

"How much longer is this going to take?" she asked exasperated.

"Only two more images left."

The next picture was one of Marco, specifically the one right before the dance, Star had missed in order to resurrect a dead clown. Her eyes glimmered, as the hearts on her cheeks involuntarily changed shades of red. The portal itself got bigger and it seemed to have grown in power, starting to suck in the furniture around it. However, that image was soon gone, being replaced with an image of Marco and Jackie sharing a kiss. That shine in her blue marbles faded away, and disdain crossed her face… She wasn't sharing the same feeling as before. The energy she was projecting from the wand, turned from bright red to a pale green. Instantly he started to destabilize. Instead of acting like a black hole, it now spewed up all that it seemingly had swallowed over the course of a couple of months. Seeing as it now got out of control, Scott intervened and shut down the portal. Star fell to her knees, recognizing a strange feeling she had before, leading to the same consequences.

"You ok?" Scott asked comforting.

For a second she stayed there silent, but then she stood up, looked at Marco, then at Scott, and a frown darkened her expression. A split second later she raised her wand and shouted out her signature "Super Narwhal Blast", but her attack was stopped by Scott instantly.

"Star, please, you don't have to do this."

She didn't say a word. Instead she kept shouting attacks one after another desperately trying to blast off the person who hurt her, deeply.

"Star, you can't hit me with anything, please calm down and listen," Scott calmly said.

Still no reply… her attacks grew in intensity and frequency. Scott was still immovable, as her attack grew stronger still. Nothing she threw at him seemed to damage him, and sorrow engulfed her so much, she couldn't be stopped to listen to reasoning. Any Warnicorn Stampede, every Rainbow Blast, every Cotton Candy Laser, had no effect even if her despair grew with every failure… Suddenly she dropped her wand. Letting her be completely driven by emotions. Scott recognized this attack. He knew what power it had before, when used to open a magically shut door. The hearts on her cheeks started glowing and so did her eyes… She started floating above the ground, a strange pink-blue tint emanating out of her. It wasn't long until Scott knew what would follow was going to be devastating.

The room was filled with light, as soon as Star unleashed her inner energy. She fell to the ground, leaned over, panting as she was exhausted from such a strong attack that drained her of almost all the power she had stored inside… Scott was still sitting there, completely untouched.

Desperate, Star raised to her feet, wobbling towards him, trying to hit the boy with a simple punch, but she fell powerless right before landing the blow. Scott was touched. He crouched over to her, and whispered:

"He did not see anything." He then raised up to his feet to continue with: "I created another dimensional plane, so that Marco could only see the same repetitive slideshow over and over. For him we are now still watching the same things we've seen twenty minutes ago.

"What about that last attack? Did that hurt you?" She asked worried and relieved that her secret was safe.

"Do not worry about it, it is now travelling through another dimension…" He paused for a second, only to start again, making big pauses between points as if he was talking sense into a baby.

"Star, your love fuels your spells while envy drains them…I've come here to help you get rid of that unlawful feeling. I am sorry if I was a bit harsh, but that's the way I had to make sure…"

She sit there for a minute still crouched and hugging her knees while rocking back and forth. She sat up and, looking down she mumbled:

"How do you know all this?"

"That's a story…for another time, Star. Now let's get back to our dimension, ok?"

And through the portal Star cut open with her dimensional scissors, they returned to the room where they left Marco staring at a bland slideshow.


	2. 1-2 Lost Through Space-Time

DISCLAIMER! I will do something a little wild (10 points for amazing punnery) and do a sort of strange thing. I will do two different story-lines aaand, that's all you need to know for now. If you want to see the alternate timeline you can jump to chapter 3 (as soon as I upload it), and from then on you should follow the instructions to follow the plot(s). I feel like this is a nice way to individualize my work and also dig in some theories regarding the newly released episode "Mathmagic".Thank you for reading, and enjoy!"

"Look, I know you hate me, but if you want to live, you'd better trust me on this one and jump in here!"

Scott's yells were seemingly covered by the sound of crumbling rock, falling trees and the ripping of the space-time fabric all around them. Marco, however seemed to clearly understand those words and actually responded to them:

"No, this is the last straw! This day, I did nothing but take leaps of faith with you and you, as usual, gave no explanations for any of them. I don't know where Star or Jackie are and neither do you, and we'll probably die in this next world. It's a surprise that we've made it this far. You know, at first I thought you were different, but you are just as reckless as Star is."

Scott was impassable as usual, but his words seemed to be the first thing to touch him in the least. He didn't seem mad, or angry in any way, but rather disappointed and sorry for what he did. Still, he had no will for revenge in his voice, but instead he shakily exclaimed:

"Okay, here is a pair of dimensional scissors," he said, throwing him a purple pair of scissors." Don't worry about Hekapoo, she won't be bothering you should you use these, which is the least of your concerns right now. It's true, I don't know where I've sent the girls, but they are alive and well, I assure you…" He averted his eyes, and then finished his speech with a heavy sigh. "Good luck, Marco."

And with these last words, he stepped into the portal leaving the boy all alone in a self-destroying world. What happened that lead to these events? Well…

The morning sun had crushed any hopes of sleeping in late. That and the fact that Scott was outside from the crack of dawn, doing God knows what for about three hours, undeterred. However, when the noise was getting insufferable, a Warnicorn Stampede, invaded the back yard in an attempt to tackle the problem at its roots. Seeing that it didn't do anything, but actually aggravated the issue, Star went to the balcony to see it for herself.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING THIS EARLY?" She yelled to the oblivious boy who transformed a back yard in an amazing construction site.

"Good morning to you too, Star."

The girl proceeded to jump the ledge and use her wand to slow her descent. She landed on the ground, wetting her socks on the dew doused grass.

"What's all the fuss about," an up and at them Marco intervened.

"Marco! He violated the sacred protocol of Late-Sleeping Saturday!" Star yelled, then continued in a vengeful whisper: "He. Must. Pay."

"Oh, walk it off…I've been awake for about two hours now," Marco said without climbing aboard the Scott hate-train.

"Why?" the other boy asked, seeming that somehow he knew the answer.

"Oh, well I'm going to help Jackie with her math homework, because I am the only one in class who actually pays attention. So, without any further ado, I am off!" Marco proudly admitted as he took his leave.

"Hold on, if you're only now leaving, why did you wake up this early?" Scott asked, smiling devilishly on the inside.

"Oh, well…" he said scratching the back of his head. "I was too excited!" he finished with a short girly giggle, after which he set off to Jackie's.

During this time, Star was inadvertently changing faces, looking visibly dismayed, then annoyed, then straight up filled with sorrow. She had not realized how Scott was doing this on purpose, while still performing his mindless task of doing whatever he was doing to annoy them. After he left, Star finally stopped her strangely forced smile and, with a loud sigh, she let go of her emotions…Scott wasn't a man of feelings, therefore he absently asked:

"Can you help me?"

"How am I supposed to do that?" she answered, shaking her head, trying to get her mind off something.

"Well, you can either create a portal, or you can summon a random thing, it's your choice."

"Ok, drop the act. Now that Marco isn't here I can finally ask you some things."

"Fire away," Scott continued in his usual manner.

"First of all, how do you know all these? You kinda evaded this the other day…"

"It is my duty to know everything, Star. Although you have messed with time and space…and space-time before, and you have a pair of dimensional scissors, but still, even though you had explored many dimensions… You have yet to explore different universes. To use a metaphor, imagine that this piece of cake is the universe," he said creating an enormous cake before Star's eyes. She reached out to grab a bite, hypnotized by the apparent deliciousness of the pastry.

"Here," he said cutting a slice for her. "Now, as you can see we have here many different layers, but in the end they only create one singular slice. When you travel between dimensions, you're only switching the place you bite from…"

"I love biting from different places," Star innocently remarked.

"I hope, you understand the concept. Now, imagine this. The layers are the same wherever you'd cut the cake from, therefore, in every single slice there would be a Star, a Marco, a Jackie, a Janna… but they wouldn't be cooked the same. A part might be burnt, the other might be filled with syrup and so on. My point is that even though the characters are the same, their interactions might be different. Also, there might be differences between the layers as well. Now, the layers are different dimensions and the characters inhabiting them… but the different slices are actually different universes…"

"Say wha…?" the girl said with a mouthful of cake.

"Now, this is a concept called infinitely large number of infinities… It's something not even the smartest Mewnians, Monsters, Humans or whatever species you want to think of cannot wrap their head around. I know you're confused, but please just keep on listening. Once, the pieces were cut, there is no way to link them back or put them together again, right? Well, I made that happen. I am not from another dimension, as you are to Earth, I am from another universe altogether."

"Whoa…" she said, her eyes glimmering with amazement. Snapping out of it, she continued: "But that still doesn't answer my question."

"Look, do you think that a being who has made travel between worlds possible can't know about a crush or two?"

"Humph, agreed," she answered rolling her eyes. „Second question, how come do you have magic powers, and use them without a wand?"

"How old, do you think I am?" He asked absently.

"I don't know, fourteen, fifteen, I'm not good with numbers…"

"I am actually, incommensurably old. Every time I jump from one universe to another I revert to a younger state. Every single time, I turn from fourteen to twelve, from thirty to twenty and so on. Therefore, I had more than enough time to learn everything there was to learn. Including magic…"

"Okay, I've got to listen to Glossaryck more…" she said disappointed. "Okay, now last question…" Star continued returning to the high spirits she usually was in. "Why are you here, exactly?"

"Ook, for this I actually need to stop my multi-tasking. Look," he said standing down on a bench that appeared from thin air. "You know that cake metaphor? There are actually more cakes… an all of them are in a pastry shop, and all the pastry shops are in an industrial area, and more areas are in one city, and more cities are in a county and so on… There are infinity to the power infinity things like this, Star, this breaks the mind of everyone… And still, there are limits to that. There is one point, in which it all stops, in which infinity ceases to exist… That's the point where I was sent from… I am sent to balance out everything… There are places in which evil reigns, places in which good reigns and places in which the fight is still undecided. Lately, in the last cycles of life, evil was pretty much in the lead… Therefore, I must help you win in order to even the odds once again."

"My head hurts…I'm just gonna go spy on Marco," she said joyfully taking her leave.

"I am afraid I can't let you do that, Star…"

"And what you're gonna do about it?" she replied in a snarky tone, starting to cast her spell.

"Okay, give me that…" He rose up to his feet, trying to grab the wand and stop her. However, Star was not one to give up without a fight, and whilst the two wrestled, she casted bits of the spell, scrambled along… The effect of which was pretty surprising… And what was more surprising was the fact that Scott, didn't know what happened either. The All-Seeing Eye seemed a bit…off. It showed the whereabouts of a Marco and a Jackie, but they were seemingly different from what the two were known as…

"What did you do?" Scott asked visibly starting to get panicked.

"I don't know! But it seems it worked out, so what's the problem?"

"Ummm, what is wrong… hmm let me see. Marco has white hair, Jackie has black hair with a red strand, they wear literally negative colors of what they usually wear, and they are doing literature homework. Doesn't this sound like a polar opposite to where we are now? What I am saying is that you created a portal to another timeline…or "dimension" as you prefer to call it."

"So, what's the matter with me doing that?"

"Well… we should be experiencing troubles…" he started to count down looking at his watch. "Three. Two. One…" And right on cue, a strong earthquake shook the ground beneath them, causing the two to fall from their feet.

"Great… you've managed to destabilize our world… I shouldn't have told you my origin story… Come, we need to fix this up, before this whole thing blows out of proportion and the High Magic Council will be all over you."

"Okay, I am good at fixing up my mistakes. Where do we start?"

"Step into this portal, as long as I still can create them and let's go…"

"Can you fill me in on what happened?"

"If only I knew exactly… I'm just going on a guess at the moment."

"That…seems... to be an amazing idea!" Star yelled while jumping head first in the portal. Scott followed suit and the two of them were now in the same room as their universe's Marco and Jackie's doorstep.

"Great, we're in front of the house, what now?"

"We get in, grab the two and retreat to another dimension, who should not be crumbling…"

"Okay, let me knock!" Star said with a smile, as Scott was worryingly looking in the distance, seeking something that was weird… After a few swift knocks, Jackie got the door, with Marco peering in from behind her, sitting down on an ocean green sofa. As soon as they saw her, they both focused their attention to creating a portal to a possibly safe layer of reality.

"What's up?" Jackie asked in her usual monotone way.

"No time to explain, dimension breaking stuff, gotta grab Marco and get out of here," Star nonchalantly blurted out as she pushed Marco through the portal, to which he replied with an offended "Hey!" She then stepped in, grabbing Jackie as well leaving Scott alone in the room to step up inside last, and shut down the hole in the reality. The first thing the inter-dimensional traveler noticed was… the unfortunate state of the place they were in.

"Okay this place's got the crumbles as well, what do we do?" Star asked sounding a bit down.

"I told you, we just continue to jump through dimensions until we find a stable one. This one's bad, go to the next one! "

Marco was freaking out, Star was tearing the hole with her dimensional scissors, Jackie was sitting confused trying to get a grasp of the situation, and Scott was pretending to be completely unaffected, even though he was severely shook, his calm calculated self, evading him in these moments. However, his lack of implication was not near as obnoxious as Marco's annoying interrogation. Especially when this was happening while passing through dimensions.

"Okay, what in the world is going on, here?"

"Oh, Star just opened the wrong kind of All…"

"Port-All," she intervened in order to conceal her actual intentions.

"Right…portal, which instead of looking through different levels of the same reality, she opened a portal to another universe…"

"Wait…" Marco started asking for explanations, but he was interrupted by the other boy's nervous, yet determined cry:

"I don't have time for this, right now Marco! All in due time!"

"Yeah, can you make an exception for this situation? "

"Fine! That's because I don't think I'm going to have any work done with you constantly complaining…" While these words came out of his mouth, he already stepped through a portal. Marco followed him:

"Great, what happened?" he asked. After taking a deep breath, Scott signaled he prepared for an enormous line of speech.

"Okay, Star opened a portal to another universe instead of another dimension, so when the two collided, even though we didn't step through the portal, it caused a fatal error in our own world, so now everything is destabilized. However, since the exposure was extremely short, we will eventually find a place untainted, and if you wonder why are you all here, since on the other side of the portal there was an exact replica of you and Jackie, all the parts implied in both universes have to be removed from the point of the interaction. All clear?"

"Pretty much…"

The dimension they were in now was a cave, filled with still destroying time-space fabric. The entire place was falling apart, still, and Scott inexplicably stopped. He didn't offer any explanation, he just halted the entire "trip".

"Hello, Mr. Travel? Mind hurrying up a bit? We are about to die, in here, unless we get a move on."

"No, we may die if we go on another random dimension, because it may have already been destroyed, which in turn will kill us too. Let me figure out where we should go next, then we can go ok?"

"But, isn't this cave already, like, being blasted?" Jackie asked.

"It will last long enough to let me check my book. You see, when something is destroyed, the wave of death and sorrow extends in both directions like…a regular wave. So, if the next jump is to one of the furthest away lands, we should be fine."

Without talking more, Scott pulled a small notebook from one of his coat pockets and started studying it, putting literally all his attention into that. While, he was locked in his thought-bubble, he could spare no focus to anything else but his study. Star, Marco and Jackie were watching the literal bubble in which he encased himself, with a mix of surprise and awe.

"So what should we do while Scott figures out where should we go?" Jackie asked in a rather concerned, yet still bland voice.

"Look, Star, I know your mother had sent this guy here for your own good…perhaps. But, since this guy came, we have firstly came close to any actual danger. Ludo was bad, and Toffee was worse, but this guy is really close to killing us."

"Marco…this is my fault…"

"I don't believe that. He must've done something to you."

"He actually did nothing," Star said starting to blush all of a sudden. "Why are you so bent on hating him?"

She couldn't get an answer… All of a sudden, the earth shaking intensified, causing bigger rocks to fall from the ceiling and the walls to crumble. This was a clear sign that this layer they were in is close to being completely deleted from the cake, but the un-bubbled trio had no idea of that. As time went by, the magnitude of the quakes grew, until it became worryingly obvious that the place they were in would collapse any second. A stalactite dropped on top of Scott's bubble, digging hard into it, only to bounce right off and almost hit Marco, who froze in place at the sight of the rock bullet that lodged hard into the cave's wall. However, involuntarily, that stalactite served as an accelerator to the cave's literal downfall. A crack in the stone quickly ran its way up the spiky ceiling, causing the ancient formations to violently shake, signaling their swift fall that would happen. Unfortunately, the general atmosphere prevented the aforementioned protagonists from seeing the imminent danger.

With a distinctively large crack, a large portion of the stalactites dislodged and began its deadly descent towards the three. Star grabbed her wand, but in an instant the world paused around her. She thought of the possible outcomes. An immense rock was bound to crush all three of them, unless she blasted them off. She couldn't have done that, even with her most powerful attack, and she could've only saved herself…But she could blast someone else out of the way and save…him. With a heavy heart, she Narwhal Blasted Marco out of the way, leaving her and Jackie to be impaled…

And that leads us to the beginning…Marco had torn a hole through the 1% of dimension that still remained standing and without thinking where to go, he woke up in front of a castle resembling that of Star's Mewnipendance Day reenactment book. Surprisingly this plane was surprisingly unscathed and didn't seem to be destroyed any time soon. This was a great place to rest.

Meanwhile, Star and Jackie were unscathed in the Pixie world…As the sharp stalactites were about to pierce their brains, a portal opened beneath them and sucked them in, throwing them on a small grassy hill, bathed by sunlight, and free of any signs of crumbling. They were safe…

In the meantime, Scott had gone to yet another dimension, appearing just above Glossaryck's book. He opened it at the exact page he was sound asleep, and shook him awake.

"Oh, Scott, hello," he said drowsly.

"How are things going, old friend?"

"Amazing. As you can see, I am no longer in the possession of the Butterfly family."

"I noticed, but unfortunately, you know, I can't retrieve the book to Star."

"And I unfortunately, am forced to help Ludo, who has been possessed by Toffee."

"This place is the most broken I've been to so far… And unfortunately it's my last."

"You have fulfilled your purpose?"

"Yes. I believe you know of the lies I told Star, right?"

"They got to her head and her imagination did the rest, leading to that tremor in the whole piece of cake, yes, I know. Just be careful, those alternate dimensions Stars you had taught are nothing like…this Star. You'll be needing a lot of patience."

"I am only fourteen, yet I've done more than any human at my age."

"You know, I am still surprised of how you were able to learn magic… Yet again I am surprised of many things concerning you… Even your level of power is astounding, but still your humbleness baffles me. How did you manage that, by the way?"

"All in due time, old man. All in due time."

And with those words, Scott had retreated into the portal leaving Glossaryck to his calm beauty sleep.


	3. 2-2 Discoveries

DISCLAIMER: This chapter has absolutely nothing to do with the previous, as stated by...the previous chapter. Therefore, it is all the more natural to find fundamental differences, so please don't hate. This might seem redundant, with the previous warning and such, but nonetheless, I am not taking any risks with the Internet. As always, enjoy!

The two returned to the same room, they left a bored and baffled Marco, still mindlessly watching a bland and repetitive slideshow.

"Shouldn't you solve that dimension-thingy you talked about?" Star asked clueless and curios.

"Umm…sure. For the record, it's not a dimension, it is more like… Imagine that I put a blanket over a parrot cage. The parrot sees nothing but the pitch black dark you forced it to see, while the outsiders still view the contraption as a covered cage. So, I just have to remove the blanket. Nothing involving the ripping of any universe fabric." Scott replied calmly.

With, seemingly no action whatsoever, Marco, who was completely oblivious of the duo's stepping through the portal, finally realized they were in the room, so he decided to ask:

"Does this thing even prove anything?" in an annoyed and bored to death voice.

"It does, Marco, it does. Now, I've gathered all the information needed for devising the training plan. I still need to ask a few questions, then we're good to go."

"Good to go, as in you leave and never come back kind of good to go, or you'll stick along until the dawn of time as Glossaryck's replacement good to go?" Marco tried to sound impassable, but failed completely.

"The latter," he swiftly replied while catching his breath, as if he was preparing for a memorably long line of speech. "Now, sit down. I want you to be comfortable so that this doesn't seem as much of a nuisance as it may be." After the last word got out of his mouth, two amazingly fluffy armchairs appeared behind them, which slid towards them, forcing them to fall on them. After, summoning a notepad and a pen as well, he started speaking, in the voice a well-renowned psychiatrist would.

"Okay, after your spell-book has been stolen, did you meet him again?"

"Nope, never," Star rushed to answer.

"Perfect, it means he is still learning how to use it. Next question… How much of Eclipsa's chapter have you studied, so far?" His gaze appeared to subtly tell her, to leave out the obvious spell.

"Absolutely nothing."

"How about the chapters of your mother and great grandmother's?"

"I didn't quite study them…as I, umm… passed through them?"

"I see. Now, would you mind making a list of your three-four favorite spells?"

"Well, Narwhal Blast is up there, surely," she started, trying to remember whatever her imagination spewed up. "Then, there's the Warnicorn Stampede… probably the Rainbow Fist Punch…"

"Okay, I get it, that is enough, thank you. Now, you won't be hearing from me for the rest of the day, I'm going to gather some things."

"What things?" Marco asked, not caring for any sort of privacy whatsoever.

"All in due time," he said while conjuring a portal. "You'll be hearing me say that a lot, by the way," he added, one step inside already. "So brace yourselves…" And then he disappeared, going to an unknown place, leaving the two alone, to do…whatever they do on a Thursday morning…Oh yeah, they go to school, because imminent interdimensional danger, never absolves you from education. Therefore, since it was already late, they left for the amazing, joy-filled place called Echo Creek School.

School, had always been boring for Star, and a very…weird place for Marco, as it generated a lot of mixed feelings. On the one hand, there was that joy he had while learning, which albeit sounding nerdy, was genuine. On the other hand it was a known fortress of fear, a symbol of hopelessness embodied in a building. It is also the site of most social interactions for him. It is also worth noting it is the only place where he can actually speak to Jackie, without his nervousness coming into play…as much as it usually does. Come to think of it, he hadn't spoken to Jackie after that faithful night, that pretty much lead to all these events and to Scott seemingly blinking into existence. Come to think of it, he didn't really think through all these events, and now it was the time to reflect, given that literature is basically a skipped class. Without anything else to do, unlike Star who was laughing her socks off alongside Janna in the back of the classroom, he grabbed his notebook and a pen and started theorizing.

He didn't know much of this elusive character, Scott. His origin was unknown, but he'd say, since he had the ability to cast spells and conjure portals from thin air, that he was most certain of Mewnian origin…or in the very least, he was a magical being, not from Earth. Next up, what did he know about his abilities? Well, he could pull off the same things Star could, but without a wand. That was surprising and not surprising as well, because she had also been able to free him from her closet while her wand was inspected by Glossaryck. Yet she only did that once and with enough effort, while Scott does it without even breaking a sweat. This guy must be much more powerful than Star, and maybe even the Queen, whom he saw blasting all her family… Now, coming to think of it, he had yet to see him attacking. He saw him only creating portals and conjuring items, things that actually Star can do…Humph, he might not be as powerful as he had been given credit for, but still, it was something to be keeping an eye on. Now, the elephant in the room was his intentions. According to him, he came to teach Star how to get better at spell-casting, literally taking over Glossaryck's old job. But, unlike the old magical being, he had gone straight to business, which was all the less suspicious. From what he had gathered for the past half a year, most of Star's world was built upon snarky, overbearing, gleeful, yet sometimes serious beings. But no one was as cynical, cold, distant and set in his ways as Scott was. It was clear to him that he was something else, not evil, though… he was kindhearted and strangely patient and somewhat warmer to Star than to anyone else (although the only degree of comparison he'd have is his attitude towards himself). But even though his rather warm side, he was still the trench coat wearing, textbook villain. He was somewhat balanced in his ways, contrasting the one-sidedness him and Star, on one side and Ludo and Toffee, for example on the other side, stood for. Maybe this was his actual intention… To come in and change the way the two of us view the world? But still… he seemed to know about past events in their lives… Ever since that strange sleepover both of them had second thoughts about how they felt about the world. Even stranger is that the most one-sided of all, Star, had actually turned their views around…Now he had something else debunked…His intention here was still a mystery. What if it actually was to help her get better at spell-casting? What if he was actually a no-sided force who was bound to an object or to a law, and had no choice but to serve that who possessed him?

Marco put down the pen, all of a sudden. The bell rang, and the class was over and students flooded the exit, struggling to get out and socialize. He went to his locker to get the textbooks for the next class. He met up with Star and Janna on the hallway.

"Hey, Marco, what were you doing the whole class?" Janna asked, smirking as she seemed to know about his activity.

"Yeah, you were all focused and analyzing…at literature class," Star yelled the last bit to accentuate the so-called gravity of the situation. "It's the only time at school, when we can have fun with words!"

"Oh, it was nothing really," Marco defended himself, swiftly trying to stick his notebook in his locker, but realizing that he didn't have it in his hand anymore. Looking to his right, Janna stole it already and was looking through it.

"Woah, Marco, you were really busy," she remarked easily fending off his attempts to recover the notebook. "Who is this Scott dude, you wrote five pages about? Is he your alter-ego or something?"

"No, Scott is a guy who was sent by my mom to teach me magic," Star nonchalantly answered.

"So he is, like a teacher? What a bore. He seemed like a cool guy, based on what you wrote about him."

"Oh, he is. I mean the guy can make things out of thin air and teleport without a wand! He's amazing!" Star shouted, trying to counter Janna's opinion on the guy. "Let me see what Marco says about him!" she said reaching for the notes, but Marco was ready for this. When Janna let her guard down, he snatched the notebook, threw it inside the open locker and smashed the door shut.

"Aww, why did you do that for?" Star asked visibly upset.

"I don't want you to worry about useless things."

"Here you go Starfly," Janna said, throwing his notebook at her.

"What…how did you? I gotta change my lock combination…for the twenty second time."

Star didn't really read anything in depth, she just flicked through the pages, but she seemed to grasp the essentials. Still, with a smile, she commented simply on what Marco wrote:

"You don't have to worry about him, Marco… He is cool and all, but you're my best friend still," she ended hugging him. "Now come, we're gonna be late for Maths and Miss Skullnick is going to flip!"

It's important to note that math is not Star's favorite subject. And, Miss Skullnick hates students who do not pay attention and have fun on school grounds. Add those two up and you can see how Star was called to the board to solve an immensely complicated math problem… Marco was looking helplessly through his notes, trying to find an answer, when he noticed something off. The corner of some pages were bent, thing that didn't happen once in his entire life as a student… The bending stopped at one point on a blank page, where a black spot was corrupting the whiteness of the paper. As Marco grabbed the eraser, that dot, started to spill, forming…letters. The handwriting was impeccable, calligraphy being the strong spot of whatever force was driving the ink around… A sentence was created…

"Hello, Marco." The letters started rearranging before his very eyes, creating a dialogue between that entity and him. "Don't freak out, as you're about to, this is Scott. I am waiting in line for some magic artifact and…let's say that pixies are not a race to hurry up. So… what are you doing?"

Marco didn't know how to talk back. Plus he still wasn't comfortable speaking to him, as if he was speaking to a friend. But nonetheless he tried to answer by writing back. From Ms. Skullnick's perspective it looked as if he was taking notes.

"Sitting in class, watching Star trying to solve a math problem. What artifact?"

He waited for an answer for a while." Must be hard moving in single file," Marco thought.

"All in due time… Wait…Star is about to solve a problem, regarding…the circumference of a circle?"

"Yeah, why?"

After this, a portal opened in front of Marco's desk, and Scott stepped out of it, but the second he looked at the black board, he shook his head and looked down.

"What's happened," Marco asked.

"Nothing, actually. I was just hoping to prevent a redundant event. Star won't be able to solve it, and will be extremely reluctant to try…This causes the destabilization of this timeline, because all the other versions of her had easily solved the problem… It eventually leads to her learning that she can't avoid doing the things she doesn't enjoy, and sometimes you have to take the high road."

"Say…what?"

"Look, I'm going to put you in a time bubble so you won't be affected by any of this ruckus that's about to go on. Don't worry about the test, that's just an anomaly, caused by Star. Nothing to worry about. Look, I gotta get back in line. Time flows differently in the dimension I'm waiting in line in, so unless I want to lose my place and lose another two hours of Earth time just so I can advance one position."

And with that he disappeared, but right after the portal closed another…immense sentence appeared on the "communication page."

"You know, I saw what you wrote about me…You know, instead of wasting time asking me a lot of useless questions, you could've been… a lot more eloquent and actually ask for my intentions, my powers, my person… I am unfortunately, as you have so cleverly guessed, bound to an universal law, which…inconveniently forbids me to disclose information, but you have one question… Be wise about it."

Marco was befuddled by this offer, partly because it was so sudden and partly because it was too good…almost sketchy. Still, he decided to ask away, and fuel his curiosity.

"Why did you come here, on Earth? And be honest, I'd realize if you'd lie…" The answer was quick to come.

"I am here, because I was announced that Glossaryck was kidnapped by Ludo and Star needs to have a teacher to help her understand the real depth of her powers. The old man was the best teacher there is combining snark and valuable lessons in the perfect proportion. I was chosen, because Star is the owner of one of magic's most valuable object and someone magic has to watch over her. No, she couldn't have been sent back, even though Baby's evaluation showed that she didn't learn anything. Evil had corrupted Mewni and the Council knows it, so I had to be sent in here. I hope that is a complete answer."

That was actually, perfectly valid and raised no other questions… And Marco was pleased with this answer, for the first time since the two had met. Maybe, Star was right. It wasn't anything but petty jealousy that got between them. Starting on the wrong foot just because of envy was not… right. Now he felt sorry for this…and felt like a huge jerk.

It wasn't long until Star's adventure had finished, and school ended as well. Back at the house, the two were waiting for Scott to return with his prized artifact. In the meantime, idle chatter was a great filler.

"So, how was school?" Marco asked seeming a bit distracted.

"We take the same classes, silly," she answered jokingly. "Now that we're playing the question game… who did you speak on the phone with earlier?"

"Oh, it was Jackie… she was worried about not understanding the problem you tried to solve today, so she called to ask me for help. I'm going over to her place later today."

"Ooooo, look at you, mister all helpful and going-overy stuff," Star smirked at him.

"Yeah, "he nervously scratched the back of his head. "But, I am worried about this…"

"Why?" Star asked, her eyes glimmering with a strange hope.

"Well, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, that's what besties are for," she said punching his arm.

"You know, ever since that ball, I didn't quite talk to Jackie…"

"Yeah…?" Star tenaciously asked, persuading Marco to continue, seemingly a bit faster.

"And even though, the dance was a success and the quote unquote date afterwards was amazing…"

"Yeah…?" She asked repeating her tell.

"And even though we shared a kiss…"

That was the moment that earth seemed to come crashing down on Star, but only on the inside. Given her history of hiding things like that, it was no surprise that she could not show any emotion, but…there was something about Mewnians, that Marco didn't know and Star didn't have a very clear grasp of… Still, even though shook, she kept the same tell as earlier.

"I still don't think she's into me…It's the same thing from the sleepover… I don't know what I actually feel for Jackie… I like her, I like her image that I hung on the wall of my mind, it's such a maze, I can't quite make up my mind as to… where do I start? It feels like I am lost in a swamp, and Jackie is and isn't there to come rescue me. I know that she deserves someone who wants to know her better, and when I tried to do that at our date, it kinda blew off. With a few forced topics, I got nowhere…"

Unaware, Star's head slid softly and subtly on his shoulder. Neither of them noticed and it wasn't uncomfortable at all.

"Marco, you gotta stop worrying about this kind of things. You can't and mustn't watch life as a one way road. It is so much more than that, but you choose to see only the main road of it… sometimes you have to take the dark and abandoned alleys…"

With that said, Scott fell through the ceiling breaking the coffee table in front of the sofa the two were staying on. His trench coat had a few burned patches and a lit flame was still dancing on the tip of his collar.

"Okay, life-lesson, never try to bargain with pixies… they do not take it well."

"You can say that twice, "Star nodded understandingly.

"Marco, shouldn't you be going? Jackie won't solve that problem all by her own, right?" Scott awkwardly remarked.

"Oh… yeah," Marco got up hurryingly, his worry settling in again, right after it vanished earlier.

And with that, he left…just as anticlimactically as you could envision it… It is not surprising that Star looked at him, looking as if she was trying to strangle some sense into him.

"You'll thank me later, Star…"

It is about midnight. A shadow is crawling its way out of the house, silent as a monster is evil. With two swift movements, it conjures a portal and steps through it, leaving no trace behind. The other end is no different from where he left: dark, pitch black, the moon providing the only source of light. It was a bedroom, with an immense king-sized bed dominating the room. It seemed very, bulky, the room. Probably because of all the stone used to accentuate the majesty of it. A strange silhouette contoured on top of the black pillows… despite its green, glowing eyes it still remained covered in shroud.

"How is the chore going?" a hard, determined voice asked.

"According to plan, my liege," the younger and softer voice answered.

"Make sure you don't…mess things around, human. Last time I trusted someone else to do the job, I lost a finger…"

"It won't happen again, I guarantee it."

"For your well-being, I'd hope so. Now off you go. You chose an unfortunate time to bother me…"

A moonbeam entered the room, shedding some light on the shrouded faces of the elusive interlocutors. One was a small, avian like monster, while the other was a young boy, wearing an old trench coat, with a severely burned collar.


	4. 1-3 Uncovered

It's hard to say where the girls were sent. It seemed like a very peace-filled realm, not knowing any sort of disturbance in the last couple of hours. Three suns were shining above their heads, giving off a pleasant heat to make them forget the sheer cold they endured in an unforgiving cave. Their surroundings were extracted from a fairy tale, birds chirping, flowers blooming, friendly wildlife… they all blended together to form an utopia for a certain type of princess. However, it's not a utopia if you are knocked out cold, by shock. Star and Jackie were laying on a small hill, passed out. This was Scott's doing. He had made them faint in order to not be affected by a sudden change. He knew that there was an important aspect to portal transportation… You had to account for so many factors… After all, it was still science… All of it. Therefore, he knew that changing dimensional states requires a certain precision, and when trying to create portals beneath people, that accuracy is just gonna go down the toilet. Plus, he had to have minute reactions, so any mistakes are forgiven. Everyone knows you must enter a portal the same way you exit… following an axis. I mean, only a fool, would make a portal that changes your gravity in the process. Scott was one of those fools, but again, this flick of the wrist saved their lives.

The girls were slowly regaining consciousness. Star got up, before Jackie and caught a thorough glimpse of their situation: stranded on a faraway dimension.

"Woah, what was all that?" Jackie asked, rubbing her still aching head.

"Interdimensional thingies, what else…I remember spikes and then we just…got up here."

"Damn…You know where we are?"

"Hmm…three suns, whimsically placed waterfalls, friendly wildlife," Star enumerated the obvious elements that summed up this dimension, then gasped as she realized where they were…

"Is there something wrong?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah, yeah…totally. We just gotta avoid meeting any people…"

"Hello, stranger," a high pitched voice shouted from somewhere behind them.

"RUN!" Star yelled as she grabbed Jackie's hand and started sliding downhill, to avoid their mysterious enemy.

In the meantime, Marco made his way up the immense stairs leading to the castle. He figured that if he was lost through dimensions, at least he could go to seek guidance from Star's mother. Still, as he was climbing the unbelievably big heap of stairs, he couldn't help but contemplate the truly compelling sight of a real castle. Growing up in the USA, not in central Europe, such edifices were rare to come across. Formidable marble towers, reigned over the sunlight, blocking its soothing rays to touch the soft Mewnian ground. They were complimented by ancient sculptures, which passed the test of time and remained as an effigy of their creator's mastery. Griffins and gargoyles shared the first place in the decoration Olympiad with the unicorns and rainbows, expressing a strange duality for such a one sided place. Since it was regarded as a true fortress of goodness, it sure seemed to have a weirder side. Yet again, it was the place where Star Butterfly originated from, so what could you expect. The castle had one more bizarre part. The back of it, although pretty hidden from view, seemed… a bit affected. Broken windows, a ruined tower, a different paint job: dark purple as opposed to the pink-yellow used for the rest. It looked like in the past that side was the literal dark side. After the thorough study of Mewni's architecture, Marco finally reached his destination. The top… Which was just the prequel to another set of stairs to the throne room. A heap of stairs later and Marco finally got to the top and met the enormous door with the two ominous crowns. However, it was impossible to push it. One hand, two hands, all limbs, karate kick, nothing seemed to make it budge…Until a servant came out, opening the gigantic door from the other side. A bit embarrassed and with an awkward smile, the boy entered inside the throne room, being greeted by the Queen, as the King was "gone to the cornfields" as she put it.

"So what brings you here, Marco?" Queen Butterfly asked on a tone that gave Marco the feeling she knew why he was standing in front of her.

"Oh, well…" Now that he came to think of it, he didn't know exactly why he sought the castle. Was it because he wanted guidance, because he wanted to confront the queen about the new addition to their "team", or just simply because he was drawn to powerful figures. Truth be told it was a homogenous mixture of all.

"Oh, just passing by, trying to see… what's up?" He said trying to sound extremely coy, but failing miserably.

"Marco, I am in charge of ruling a kingdom which spans across multiple dimensions. You think I don't know why, or more importantly, how you've come here?"

"Worth a shot…"

"I suppose I shouldn't tell you that I know of the severe destabilization of the dimensions you've passed through and that I also know why that happened."

"And you can also show off," he mumbled under his breath.

"But," she said noticing his whisper and raising her voice to indicate so, "I have to ask, where is my daughter, Star?"

"Oh, well…she is…back home, safe and sound," Marco answered, his voice trembling as he was lying his socks off.

"And, where is my trusted professor?" the queen asked, changing emotional states. She turned from serious and somewhat apathetic to worried and very drifty.

"You mean Scott? Oh, he left me, Star and a friend of ours to wander around after he ran away from us. Nice teacher you got her…" Marco scolded the Queen.

"Oh, I am sure it was all in good spirits," the Queen laughed, requesting a piece of paper and a plume, using some sort of sign language. She sounded amazingly uneasy, as if the only mention of Scott's name filled her with fear. Rapidly she wrote something, and with a shaky hand, turned the paper around for Marco to read: "He is listening"

"Oh, I see. Hmmm…" His cog wheels started spinning. How could they speak about the situation at hand, without mentioning his name even once? Suddenly it came to him. There was a prison break movie, Marco had watched a long time ago, featuring a very clever scene. In order to escape, prisoners used a code to talk to each other, while the guards were known to be listening. With smart metaphors and wordplay they managed to carefully devise a plan to get out, without hinting anyone off.

"And how…" he started his sentence, prolonging both words as he made his way towards the throne room and grabbed the Queen's note." …is this rat problem going to be solved?" he asked as he wrote down his plan to the Queen which nodded and smiled as she saw how smart the boy actually was.

"I am afraid the little critters are a big part of our…society. Although they are annoying, they help fertilize the cornfields by carrying pollen on their brown fur. Also, I think that should we try to scare them off, they will come back stronger and in bigger number, threatening to completely destroy our crops."

"Can't you call in some specialists to deal with them? You know like a magic bugs-be-gone?"

"I am afraid that the vermin is stronger on Mewni than it is on Earth. I've tried to call the coun… exterminators, but they were no match. It seemed like they already knew about any traps or poisons, so the poor people were obsolete…"

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, Marco," The Queen said defeated. "You can't do anything. We'll just have to wait in order for them to either starve or go by their own terms. It's important that we let things go on as they are…"

"If I were you, I wouldn't stay around waiting for nature to run its course. It's important to know when to stand up for yourself…"

Back in the world in which Star and Jackie were hiding behind a fallen tree log, Star was peeping around, following the shadows of a crowd of ghastly entities. Jackie was still confused and lost, trying to wrap her head around what happened.

"What exactly is…" Jackie started, but soon Star covered her mouth, shutting her up.

"Shhh…look," the princess replied pointing at two unidentified beings, who appeared to be feasting on the body of an innocent deer.

"Ugh…creepy," Jackie said uneasy. "What can we do?" she asked in her quietest whisper.

"We need to find a pair of dimensional scissors and get out of this place…But in this place I don't think it will be easy to come across…"

"Why?" But the second she opened her mouth, two figures, the same who were lurking around earlier, appeared on top of their hiding place. At first, Star and Jackie were completely stunned, but the second the two entities jumped over the log, they couldn't help but scream in terror.

"You know, just because you're using pest-related talk instead of my actual name, doesn't mean I can't understand, you know? Also, writing isn't making a big difference either…" Scott said as he just appeared on a big, fluffy armchair pointed at the window. "I grew tired of this petty squabbling of yours, Marco… Why are you set on this amazing crusade against me?"

Off the top of his head, Marco couldn't find anything, but after a few seconds of thinking he came with his reason.

"Because ever since you came into our lives, things started rolling downhill…"

"Umm, that's one bad event. You know, to draw a function you need at least two points, and you drew a line using only one…"

"Still, you didn't give any sort of backstory of yourself…"

"Neither did Glossaryck, and still he had your trust."

"It's different…"

"No, it's actually the exact same thing. You lied twice now, I would like to hear the truth."

Marco knew that…But he wasn't so sure now why he hated him so much… Was it just because of them coming into their lives like a hurricane and he just destroyed a thoroughly created feng-shui kind of thing? Or was it just that so many people had come into their home as friends and later on left as foes…

"I have a hunch why is that, but I'd better here it from you. Guesses are extremely unreliable. Also, to add some more pressure, Star and Jackie are currently in a very dangerous dimension, and until you come out, we can't do anything about it."

"What?" the Queen asked surprised and angered, already starting to switch into her true Mewnian form.

"Sit down, Moon," Scott said as with a wave of his hand the writing on her piece of paper changed. Queen Butterfly turned from mad to annoyed, then quietly returned to her usual apathy. That was her usual reaction as she knew the amount of teen angst that was about to unfold before her eyes. Marco was a bit befuddled by the dramatic switch in the Queen's mood, but that was something to be put on the back burner. Now his focus was on…being honest. Firstly in his life, being dishonest or hiding the reality of his feelings had threatened the well-being of people around him. Even though he did that with Jackie for a decade almost, it never hurt her. It was just something in the background of the picture he had painted his whole life. But foremost, it's hard to know why it was so hard to verbalize the truth right now…It isn't like he was a pathological liar and he had a history of being blunt…but there was something else now…

"Tick-tock, the clock is ticking and every second leads to more harm being caused."

"You're a psycho, you know that?" Marco shouted from the bottom of his lungs.

"Perhaps, but you're the only one keeping me from doing anything about it right now…"

Another long pause followed. It was like the sleepover all over again. However, the circumstances were enormously different… There was no embarrassment involved, nor any unshared feelings, yet… "Here goes nothing," Marco said to himself.

"Okay, you know why I hate you? Because I've had it with people coming into my life and switching everything around like you own the place. Tom did that already, Ludo too and I can't stand the idea of being tricked and have the rug pulled from under me again…"

"So, just because I came in suddenly and started doing things that did not agree with you, I am suddenly evil? I can assure you that my intentions are purely for the sake of the royal family. But there is still something missing, don't you think?"

"What now?" Marco said as if he didn't want to get heard.

"You know, you can admit that all the people that came in your life threatened to change…someone, rather than something. I am not putting words in your mouth anymore…"

"FINE, GOD! I am afraid that you'd come and change Star…"

"Finally, the truth has been unveiled. Moon, I see you trying to intervene and I have to urge you to stay out of it." Scott paused for a moment. With a heavy movement, he got up from the armchair, and, after he had fixed his flat collar, walked towards Marco.

"Look, I know that you're her friend and all, but I'd keep in mind two things, if I were you. First of all, you must stop being so overbearing and protective…Remember the Blood Moon ball?"

"Yeah," he said out loud, thinking to himself: "How does he know about that?"

"You know, Star needs a friend right now more than anything. With that spell-book and now that Toffee has been resurrected into Ludo, she needs support and guidance…"

"Toffee has been what now?" the Queen asked.

"Moon," Scott said in an angry tone. Queen Butterfly sat down, but she still had to raise her objection. "We still have time, but you must trust me to do what's right sometimes…I know that being the voice of reason has been a big stone in your friendship with Star, but…I have to do my job, too. I know, I might seem arrogant, showing off my powers every now and then…I know I am cold and distant…I know of my shortcomings, but I still mean well. You must see that. As to the change part, this is my second point. People are not flat…they are round. Do not take this out of context, but it's true. People grow, people change and that is something that must happen, whether we want it or not and whether we like it or not. She must learn to overcome her faults, albeit few and become a greater person in order to fulfill her purpose…Evil must be defeated and, she is the only one who can do that… And for her to be able to do that, she…must change. Do you understand that?"

Marco was severely shook. He knew Scott to be so far nothing but a stone-cold person. He had no idea that he was actually that insightful… Now he felt like the jerk he thought Scott was.

"I do…Now let's go get Star and Jackie…"

"Not so fast! Toffee is back and you didn't tell me about it? What kind of good force are you if you withhold precious information like that?" The Queen was enraged and strangely enough, Scott actually seemed a bit guilty, not bearing his usual carelessness shield.

"Yes, I did. It's about two days late, though. You know Toffee is immortal, for one and that he needs time to become strong again. Plus, with every single time we "kill" him, he grows stronger, at the cost of his power needing more time to be regained."

"AND I SHOULD BE CALM ABOUT THIS?" the Queen lost her temper, but Scott now looked calmer than ever.

"Yes, you should. I have everything under control, Moon. It's all part of my master-plan. Should I start losing the edge, slightly unlikely, be sure that I will be swift to report, so the Council can do whatever it wants with me. Am I crystal clear?" Scott said, conjuring a portal. Marco stepped first, a remorseful, yet warm smile on his face, then as Scott was about to leave, too the Queen stopped him.

"Scott?"

"Yes?"

"Please, refrain from calling me by my real name."

"You get one of these little favors. By the way, I know that you want to know more about who I am. I have many reasons why I am not telling you this, but if you really are interested, you can find out, fairly easily. Your family history contains a clue as to who you should ask for more. From then on, it's your detective work. Good luck…your majesty."

The other end of the portal had opened into the dimension, Star and Jackie were kidnapped in. At first sight it looked exactly like Mewni, but the three suns up above gave it away.

"Okay now, where is Star?"

"In that city over there," Scott said pointing to a city in the distance. It seemed like it would take a while to get to it…

"How are we gonna get there in time?"

"Marco…" Scott smiled as he pointed at the pair of dimensional scissors in Marco's hand.

"Oh…yeah. Duhhh," Marco said slapping his forehead.

In an instant the two jumped through space and now the two were staying in front of a weirdly colored house… Its walls were pink with rainbow spots, the roof was…funky, the door was smaller than 3 feet…

"Who lives in this dimension?" Marco asked.

"You'll find out, immediately. Open the door."

The second Marco put his hand on the undersized handle, two different screams echoed in their ears. One was slightly higher-pitched than the other, but nevertheless they were both known to Marco. Jackie and Star were in there, scared out of their minds. Panicked Marco started frantically pulling the handle, all while Scott was holding back a smile. He stopped his helpless attempts and showed him the window. As they both walked to see what was going on, their expressions became shared. The boys were smiling amused at the sight of Jackie laughing with tears at the clowns' jokes all the while Star was isolated in the corner scared at the sight of them. She did have coulrophobia after all. The boys watched the show unfold before their eyes, until they unanimously decided to step in and spare Star the agony she so funnily endured…

"Search my family's history, he said. It will be easy, right?" the Queen mumbled to herself. "It's not like I have to read through seven centuries and find a needle in a haystack…"

"What is my lovely Queen up to?" the King asked as he bravely entered through the splendidly sculpted doorway of the library.

"Remember that child, I sent to teach magic to our daughter?"

"I sure do. Scotty or something right?"

"Yes, precisely. I need to find out more about him and I can't seem to pinpoint the start of my journey."

"Can I help you?"

"You can try, but it's doubtful that you'll find…"

"Look, isn't that him?" the King interrupted in his usual bohemian tone.

"Yes…yes it is…Where did you find his picture?"

"It's in this book, called "A brief interdimensional history.""

"Hmmm, it seems like the picture is labeled "Our best friends from the other side", and that's my ancestor…Celestia. What is she doing…on Earth?"


	5. 1-4 Almost

"Ok, Star, are you ready for your first lesson?"

That was Scott's voice, coming from the top of a tree. He was resting comfortably on a low-hanging branch, while Star was trying to climb too.

"Sure, thing chief…What's the first lesson?"

"Defensive spells," Scott placidly said, trying to make the most boring voice he could pull off. It worked, as it already had an effect on the exuberant princess.

"Awww, man. Come on, can't you like teach me any laser blast or something?"

Scott jumped off, rendering Star's attempts in vain. She frowned slightly, then jumped down as well, landing on her feet, but then falling on her back.

"Nope. I have my obvious, mind you, reasons why we are going to learn shields. Now, come, chop-chop. We are not going to train in a highly dense forest, where deflecting your attacks will result in an enormous number of innocent critters evaporated."

"Urghh…" Star groaned frustrated. "Fine, can we at least take the dimensional scissors there?"

"Negative. We'll walk. Also, no magic until we get to that clearing."

"Yeah, yeah, sure, no magic…No magic?!" Star yelled only then realizing what he said. She had a knack for turning her hearing off, when Scott was talking. It wasn't because she wasn't interested…Actually, no it was because she wasn't interested and because mostly every word he said was about magic and lessons…Star found that pretty boring; he was the person who would speak about school every single moment of the day, even at parties. But alas this was her conception.

"Yes. No magic. Look, if you want to know why and how, rest assured that, at the end of the lesson, I'm going to give you an extremely thorough explanation of every one of my actions, ok?"

"Hmmm…" Star wasn't sure if this bargain was worth. But at least it guaranteed some insight. "Fine, deal," she said, shaking his hand.

Without any further discussions, the two started their amazing journey towards an immense clearing that was going to serve as their training ground. Scott was the silent type, while Star was a talking type. She tried numerous times to ask him anything, start a conversation, but the second the words were about to leave her mouth, she stopped. Just seeing the way he was lost in thoughts, his eyes daringly scraping the tips of the distant mountains, made her lose any hope of human contact. Instead, she tried to focus on her surroundings. This place was not very different from what she was used to, back in her home dimension. Surely, the burning heat and a strangely white glowing sun on the sky, plus the strange tentacles on the trees set it apart from Mewni, but it still had a strangely familiar feeling. She could hear the grass rustling and the hooves of a heavy ungulate (it's a term for any herbivore that you know to be preyed upon in savannahs) clopping around on the rocky soil. A river completed the strange harmony with its soothing sound which, albeit distant, added a classical note to the symphony. That was how Star saw things around her…however put in Scott's words.

If we were to study the cynical boy's perspective things would've been slightly less…poetic, although his vocabulary was fit for that vocation. He saw the world in shades, not in hues or spots of colors. Everything was gray-scaled for him. It was hard for him to experience the same feelings Star did. It wasn't a matter of choice, but a matter of history. The rainbow in the distance wasn't whimsical or filling him with a sense of child-like wonder…it was the mere refraction of light through the humid atmosphere… He was a man of science, after all, versed in the subtle art of magic. And an artist without a purpose is void… There was a paradoxical war raging inside him… Scott was a man, who despite young, knew a lot more than any of the brightest minds in the known universe and its many layers. And that was all while being…off the grid, which was extremely rare, if not unique. The High Council of Magic was known to possess an archive that kept in pristine order every single being in the universe. Apart from a few… Scott was obviously one of them. And he was extremely successful at keeping himself under board. Magical beings like Glossaryck, or Hekapoo have a sort of innate ability to control this kind of forces, but the key is in their name. "Magical beings." Scott was obviously not that. These things are usually humanoid but keep on a slightly…weird appearance. And there he was. Standing a little over 5'8", dark brown hair, emerald green eyes, wearing a signature coat paired with the same white shirt and brown pants, giving him the look of a scholar, or a last year student, rather than a boy who should decide what he wants to do with his life. He was always lost in thought, his irises always glimmering, but absent every time. When he spoke, he never looked the person in the eye. He was grazing the sky, or burning holes in the ground, but his voice was never shaky. He was determined and eloquent, knowing what to say at the exact time. He was calm, collected and calculated, while most other were reckless and quick-tempered. There was one capital and crucial difference though. He was completely void of any sentiment… He was aware of them, and knew them through and through, yet he couldn't experience them. It was a setback, but he knew to turn it around. He spent some time, studying psychology, finding it rather interesting…It felt like a fairy tale, rather than something he'd relate to. This was the final piece in the puzzle he had built. He knew to interpret signals that other people gave away, he knew what and how to say in order to achieve his goal…all while he felt nothing…

"You okay, there?" Star asked, staring innocently at the back of his head. It's worth noting that for a while now, Scott was leading the way.

"Yes, I am fine."

"Sure? You seem lost in thought. You've been like this for a while now."

"I am fine," Scott repeated in his same monotone way.

"You don't seem fine."

"Star, I am the same as I was before and as I was the day I met you. Nothing has changed, nothing is new, and I know you're desperately trying to make conversation, because you're bored. We're almost there, Star. You'll be able to fight in an instant."

The clearing was dominated by a huge rock, looking as if a hand came down from the sky and just threw it there. However, Scott smiled as he laid eyes on the odd occurrence.

"Great, now, I'd like you to turn your back to that immense stone and prepare yourself. Stretch, or whatever you have to do."

Star followed his instructions obediently, growing confused as Scott was flailing his arms around, like he was dancing. However, he wasn't just rehearsing a choreography. He didn't just shake around, he was actually conjuring a strange entity, whose body type she had seen before.

"What are you doing?" Star asked curious as to what he was trying to summon.

"Creating the enemy you'll be facing."

"And who's that?"

Scott was done and, with a flash of light, a short and ugly bird-like creature was roaming the Earth, carrying a stick with a rock stuck to it. After the temporary blindness faded away, Star was able to identify it as the most annoying mignon pest in the entire universe, Ludo.

"I'm gonna be fighting Ludo?"

"Precisely. Wand up, you're going to have to start protecting yourself," Scott said calmly as Ludo's wand started glowing, signaling that he was casting a spell. A dark green blast came out of the half-star on his wand, and was swiftly travelling towards Star. She replied soon enough with her Narwhal Blast, but as soon as the beams collided, they stopped and exploded, causing Star to shield her face with her arm. However, her reflex was deemed useless as the destructive force was contained inside a protective bubble, about a foot away from her. The multicolored shockwave was resonating beautifully inside its impenetrable casing and she couldn't help but stare in awe at the cacophony that was unfolding before her eyes. As she touched it, the bubble deformed, causing a disturbance inside. Seeing that she had enjoyed it for a while now, clenching his hand into a fist, he made his own spell disappear.

"That's enough."

"Oh, come on, man…"

"You see where you did wrong, Star?"

"Ummm…No, not really," she said with a confused look.

"Well, if it weren't for that shield, your face would be severely burnt and that golden hair of yours would've been lost forever. You don't fight fire with fire, Star, because it births more fire. If an enemy attacks, what do you do?" Scott ask, sounding like a general scolding his privates.

"I…attack back?"

"No, you dodge or shield yourself. Enemies will come that will be far beyond your power level. Even though Ludo doesn't seem like much, he can and will not hesitate to obliterate you, only to tilt the game in his favor. Plus, you've only met enemies whose power level was lesser or equal to yours, but now you'll face evil that surpasses your skill level and your power level. The game is over, and from now on, I'm going to need you to give 100%, ok?" His voice had gradually turned from abrasive to calming. He was perfectly emulating empathy for her…

"Okay, just a problem, now, Mr. Teacher."

"What's that?"

"I don't know how to make a shield and I have no start…"

"You didn't have a start when you first performed magic without a wand, but that didn't stop you. Although, come to think of it, you had an enabler…"

"An enabler? You mean…Marco? "

"You're extremely insightful, Star," he said sincerely. "Now, for the shield. You know any sort of blast you're trying to create? Try focusing it on yourself. It's that easy actually."

"Okay…thanks…for nothing," she mumbled for herself.

Scott knew he had to brace himself for a lot of failures, but his patience was so trained, it was basically limitless. The fake Ludo had already charged another blast… and it's needless to say that Star had failed to conjure her shield in time…

"Nice try, Star. Again!"

Another blast.

"One more time!"

And another.

"Work harder!"

And another…

"You aren't projecting your energy as you should! Try again!"

And yet another…

"Almost there! Try again!"

And one more…Failed again. Star was exhausted, after training all day. The sun was close to setting and it was bidding farewell to the last parts of the horizon, but she hadn't made any real progress. Panting, while leaning on her knees she was barely holding herself from yelling at her teacher. It was a "been there done that" situation. Glossaryck had been vague in the past, but at least he shut up afterwards. He wasn't continuously trying to encourage her with absolutely no voice inflexions whatsoever. It only took him to say "Again!" once for her to flip. And when she was angry, although rare, there was nothing to joke about.

"You know, what? I've had it with you, too. I initially stood up for you, when Marco criticized your every move, but now, I see where it's actually coming from all of it. You are nothing but an infuriating jerk who so desperately tries to replace a millennia old servant of our family. And you fail…miserably! I don't know why my mother sent you here, and I don't want to know. Now go!"

"Perfect." Scott was completely unaffected. The fake Ludo was already preparing for another blast. Without any warning now, he fired. Instinctively Star retaliated, with the same attacks as before, forgetting anything she's been taught. As before, the explosion happened, but this time it was not contained. Since the beams crossed slightly further than before, the shockwave was not strong enough to hurt, but it sure knocked Star off her feet.

"What are you going to do? Destroy me just because I told you the truth?" Star yelled infuriated. Scott didn't answer, he didn't even budge.

Ludo prepared another attack and fired it, as if he were real, not giving her a chance to catch her breath. But now, his attacks varied. They weren't only meaningless straight blasts. They started to curve outwards, to become almost sentient…Knowing they need to be drifty in order to avoid getting destroyed. Star did nothing more but run and fight back, but every time the streams crossed, an explosion followed. The night was now illuminated by their fight. The silent woods were animated by a confrontation, never before seen.

"Stop that! Isn't this breaking some sort of law, or arrangement you had with mom?" Star asked trying to reason with a seemingly mad man. But she was knocking at a closed door… His little minion was vividly casting spells, fueled by a blinding desire to destroy her and its master, her friend, she thought was sitting there, ruthlessly watching over as a Caesar over his gladiators.

A few more shots were fired, with the same outcome. It was as if she didn't learn from her mistakes, only repeating them, aggravating her situation. After yet another barrage, she decided to take shelter behind the huge stone in the middle of the clearing.

"I can't reason with this guy," she thought to herself. "I can't touch that little guy, only thing I have left to do is try to hit him…" Without rethinking her plan over, she decided it was for the best to just go full on. She got up, ran from her hiding spot, and used the most powerful attack she could think of to obliterate her former friend. Her Warnicorn Stampede shout echoed through the night as it summoned one of the strongest herd of unicorns she had in store. They were rampaging through the grass, breathing fire from their noses, their neighs having the power to crush the spirits of anyone who would hear them. The collision with the two was formidable, raising a dust cloud that obstructed her view of the duo. Without double checking, she turned back searching her dress pockets for her dimensional scissors, when suddenly an energy blast was fired at her feet, sending her flying into the air. She landed on the enormous stone, bruises and scratches covering her arms.

As the dust settled, she could see the two were unscathed… A purple glimmer surrounded them, showcasing the shields they used to protect them. Star had no time to relax, as the tiny minion tirelessly attacked her in a murdering frenzy. She didn't have any more fight in her… With her last powers she fired off her last few attacks, retaliating for what could be the last time. She was weakened and as the last spell flew from her wand, she fell to the ground, powerless.

They say that in the last moments of your life, you rethink every moment of your life. Starting with your first. Her childhood. Her mother. Her duties. Her powers. They were all flashing before her closed eyes. She thought of her journey to Earth. She remembered her first days with Marco. Her best moments with him. Their first class…her mewberty crisis… the ball, with the blood moon that bound their souls together forever… Then the confrontation with Toffee, the fear of losing him drove her to destroy her wand in order to save him. Then the new wand…the new powers that she found out right as he was about to read her diary. The sleepover, where she nearly got caught, but cleverly avoided the truth. Then the faithful night that brought them to this very moment. The remorse she felt when she saw him and Jackie having the time of their lives. The envy that corrupted her spells. Ludo stealing her book, as she sought refuge and comfort in his arms…And then Scott. Coming in like a hurricane inside her life, uncovering secrets she's been long hiding. She resented that. But she couldn't do anything about it. He knew her through and through, but that was not enough. She put her trust in him, only to find out what he really was. He wasn't shy and distant. He was cold…and mad. In his pure task, his noble mission he jumped the line twice already, and she didn't forget that. As usual she kept her spirits high, but it was pointless. He countered her easy-going and cheerful attitude with his stoic and brute self. Still, she considered him a friend, but now she saw how cheated she was. A friend stays beside you for better or worse and understands you… But he failed these requirements. Now there he was, down below commanding his little minion to destroy her, just because he couldn't take in the fact that he was an awful teacher. Friends never let you down, and now, just because he was so set in his ways…he was about to kill her…for no reason at all.

Time was slowed to a halt, but she could still sense the green, evil light emanating from the crazed Ludo's wand. In the blink of an eye, for her, the unforgiving blast was already near her, milliseconds away from dictating her demise. She clenched her hand on her wand, trying to murmur the last spell of her life, but it was too much for her. She closed her eyes, one more time and laid there, awaiting her doom. Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes, but she was too proud to let them free…The blast hit, its sound resonating through the empty dark forest, its light illuminating the sky with the corrupted tint of evil. The deed was done.

Scott was left speechless. He didn't think that his summon would actually go through with it. He wanted to force her into learning, to give her the impulse she had always needed in the past. But it was too much for her. He'd brag to himself that he knew how people think, but in the end his pride, albeit little, was his downfall. He destroyed his minion and let his body fall on the harsh grass, kneeling before the effigy of his mistake, the enormous rock. He laid kneeling staring at the dark emerald fire burning on top of the stone pillar. Now it was his time to rethink his life and purpose. As he laid there, on the brink of finally having a human emotion in the form of despair, a small rock flew past his head. Looking in the direction of where it came from, he saw a silhouette casting a shadow through the flames… He couldn't believe his eyes, when he saw that his method, although excessive has paid off and Star, surrounded by a pink aura.

She jumped down and with shaky steps approached her mentor and, with a smile crossing her face, she asked:

"Now it's time for those questions?"

Scott paused for a while, grateful that she was alright and, smiling back he replied:

"Sure."

"Why didn't you attack me, and put that little evil thing to do the dirty deed for you?"

"Well, I believed that fighting an enemy you were accustomed to was going to motivate you more and I can't attack you, Star."

"Why is that?"

Scott didn't answer, but instead he stepped up and with a short flick of the hand, he unleashed a pulse of indigo energy that, when came in contact with the rock, sent it flying miles away, crossing the line of the horizon in mere seconds.

"This is why…"

"You know, you can't play this card forever. Star is not as tough as you are."

"I overstepped this time, but it turned better than I thought, didn't it?"

"Luck is not something to take pride in. You could've actually harmed her, and Moon wouldn't have forgiven you, as powerful and needed as you are."

"You are right…I must plan more carefully… "

"On the contrary, boy. You must stop overthinking it. You are trying to force Star to follow your ways, but you should leave her influence you as well. Two people colliding…"

"Share together, or fight each other…"

As the portal opened, Scott only said one more thing.

"Try following that advice yourself, Glossaryck," and with that he left and the tiny old man disappeared in the pages of the book.


	6. 2-3 Help

"Where are you going, kids?" Scott asked as he was laying on the sofa, reading an issue of a magazine with an unintelligible title, written in the runes of an ancient language.

"We're going to a Love Sentence concert!" the trio screamed excited, while Scott waved them goodbye.

"Aren't you gonna bother us with your dad talk?" Marco asked him sarcastically.

"Not today, Marco. Well, come to think of it, I do have a question actually. When does the concert start?"

"Around eight," Jackie swiftly answered as she put on Star's concert T-shirt. Scott stopped his meaningless task for a second and looked lost in thought for a moment. It seemed as if he was calculated something in his mind and as soon as it was done, he returned to his former activity.

"Great then. Have fun!" Scott said actually putting a bit of emotion in his speech.

Jackie and Marco had left and Star was about to take off as well on her cloud, but she stopped in the doorway all of a sudden.

"Don't you wanna tag along? You know having a friendly fun time?" Scott dropped his magazine and looked a bit scared as if Star had just found out his greatest fear and now used it against him. "You ok?" she asked again.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said shaking his head as if he was trying to ward off the memory of an event ever happening. "No, thank you, I've got some errands to run," he said nervously, for the first time losing his cool.

"Suit yourself!" Star yelled as she charged off along her magical cloud. "That was weird," she thought to herself.

It was the first time since she had known him that he showed any sign of being human. His first emotion was fear and at something completely normal. That was an alarm signal in her book, but for the moment she had something else on her plate. Off to the concert she was…

In the meantime, Scott threw his magazine and was pacing nervously across the living room. He seemed lost in thought, preoccupied and absent. And it all came from a seemingly empty proposal. He stopped all of a sudden and whispered: "It is time," then jumped into a portal and he was gone.

He was so distraught he forgot the basic magic he always used and, as a result, fell at the steps of the High Magic Council. Without hesitation or further thought he rose to his feet and, visibly shaken, ringed the doorbell. The doorman answered.

"Oh, hello…who are you?"

"I've got to speak with the Council. Right now!"

"Oh…okay, I guess. I should inform you that the rules of this building are clear: no magic is to be used indoors. Oh, and also…things are not working very well in here, so…take care."

Thanking Sean, the receptionist and doorman and many other things all in one, he rushed to the elevator, only to find it out of order. Knowing of the many problems of the headquarters, he didn't get scared by the sign, opened the closed shut doors and started climbing up the lift's cable. Reaching the next floor, he exited through an open hatch in the wall and then headed for the stairs. After another floor was left behind, he went to the balcony and climbed up on the ladder there. This was the longest process so far, but that wasn't the last step. Almost at the top, he let go of the ladder, starting to plummet to his inevitable doom… However, about midway down, gravity suddenly switched and now he was literally falling up. As he passed the top floor, the strange defiance of the laws of physics (which are not to be found in this dimension), he was sucked in the lobby of the meeting room. The second he set foot on the soft reddish carpet, the elevator dinged, signaling a ghost arrival, because its doors opened to reveal an empty lift.

"Sorry about that, the elevator is a bit…" But Sean couldn't finish his sentence in time for Scott to hear, because he had already entered the long hallway leading to the meeting room. The building was a total mess. Every step he took yielded a different sound, cracking or creaking indefinitely. When he stopped in front of the door, a strange popping noise echoed through the hollow corridor. This, unfortunately, made the council greet him in full alert mode, all of their magical weapons drawn.

"Isn't that a bit excessive peo…umm…entities?" Scott remarked, regaining a never before existing sense of humor.

"Who are you?" Rhombulus asked, already firing a blast from his sentient arms. Scott was however, prepared and dodged it in time.

"If you wouldn't attack me, I would be completely willing to sit down and tell you all about my purpose and myself."

"He's evil!" Rhombulus' right hand exclaimed, already preparing for another attack, but an empty "Baa" from Lekmet had stopped him. The three living beings inside Rhombulus' body shared a dismayed look.

"Great, now that we have cleared the air, may I sit down, with my guard down, without fearing that I will be frozen solid for a thousand years and thrown inside a crystal dungeon?"

"I've got my eye on you," Rhombulus grumpily threatened the elusive boy.

"Okay, now that the big baby calmed down," Hekapoo said causing Rhombulus to glare at her, "let's go through the standard identification process." As she finished, she summoned an enormous register paired with a red pen, encrusted with a ruby.

"Name!"

"Scott."

"Race."

"Human."

"Human?" the entire council shouted surprised, including Omnitraxus who just joined in.

"You're going to gasp for a long time now, so what if you save them all for the end? Proceed, please," Scott said trying to show that he was in a hurry.

"Fine…Dimension of origin or residence."

"You're going to need a lie detecting device. Oh look, here is one," Scott said conjuring a truth or punishment cube.

The council was completely baffled. In the back of the room, Lekmet was quietly whispering "Baa" talking to someone, while the 3 other members had to pick their jaws from the floor.

"It's a perfectly reprogrammed cube that, instead of testing the validity of answers for his own questions, functions as a polygraph, only much more reliable." Hekapoo, a master in magical craftsmanship, nodded agreeing that the cube is actually perfectly modified.

"Great, now. My dimension of origin is Earth, but I currently reside across many dimensions."

The "TRUTH!" green marker blinking, made the entire Council lose its mind again.

"How is that even possible?" Rhombulus asked. "That's clearly dark magic!" he then shouted firing twin blasts from his hands. Scott stopped them mid-air and made them crash into each other, all with a flick of the hands. This only added to the injury that the Council's minds had from all the mind-blowing stuff that happened before their eyes.

"Can we speed things up a bit? I'm racing against the clock here."

"Explain how it's true that you reside across many dimensions, please." Hekapoo asked him, her voice shaking severely.

"It's fairly easy. I divided myself into a multitude of different selves…I think the number is about 42. I've sent them all to different timelines, but lately, something happened which didn't happen in all the thousands of years I've spent split up like that. There is a problem in this, though. By doing so, I had to split my consciousness as well. My emotions, my thoughts, my memories are all scattered across 42 other timelines, and they were fine, until I've met the problem of this timeline. I don't exactly know what exactly caused this, but now my memories and thoughts are mixing and interchanging continuously, causing me to lose my synchronization with the world I am in. Earlier today, when Star asked me to go to the concert, I lost it, and unaware of what I was doing, I almost revealed this to her…" He got interrupted by the Queen walking in and shouting.

"Star?"

"Oh, hello Moon, pleasure seeing you here. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. I finished telling you my story, now I must tell you of my purpose."

"Hold on, hold on…This is hard to swallow, even with the cube confirming the truth of what you say," Omnitraxus said, looking a bit confused. "I am the master of time and space…space-time…how come I didn't know anything about this?"

"You think that a being powerful enough to split itself into 42 pieces, create portals, pass through your magical building, all while being human, mind you, hasn't got enough knowledge to hide its tracks?" Scott mockingly answered. "I am on borrowed time, how about I end my story?"

"Borrowed time? What is it that you have to do?" the Queen asked.

"All in due time. Now, why did I split myself? This is a story that stretches for a while. I was born in almost 3000 BC, but that time is meaningless to you. That was the time of the ancient Egyptians who built those effigies you had used, dear Omnitraxus, as the gate…and power source for Earth's interdimensional portals. Now, as a kid, I was amazingly stupid. I didn't know much at that time. It's important to note the, obvious to Hekapoo and Omnitraxus, power of the pyramids. It was the first source of raw magic on Earth. This is the reason why the architect had forbidden anyone, even the Pharaoh himself to enter inside his massive effigies. He was Earth's first defender and, quite unsurprisingly, my father. I clearly had a bit more liberty, being allowed to go anywhere on site, apart from the banned place…where I obviously went, late at night when no one was watching. Exposure to raw magic forces isn't something that a feeble boy could withstand without instantaneous death, but…alas it didn't happen. I don't know how, because I found out that my father had erased my memory extremely late, but I know the effect this had…" Scott stopped short, conjured a glass of water, drank it in one gulp, and then continued, rejuvenated. "It gave me many gifts…Magic powers to be envied by omnipotent beings, abilities to defy laws made by the universe itself…But it came with a burden as well. I had been mistakenly chosen to defend balance across all timelines, dimensions, universes..."

"Your story is…Extremely hard to understand…" Rhombulus remarked intrigued rather than annoyed.

"Yeah, that's because it's fake…You don't need to know my origin to know why I split myself. All you need to know is that my purpose is the safekeeping of princess Butterfly. And since this is the first timeline that had ignored the pattern I've been accustomed to for a couple hundred years, and since this is the last time I save the princess, before she will not be needing saving again…I want this to go smoothly. Plus, I've got enough problems when Eclipsa went rogue, despite me and Glossaryck's best efforts…" All the council was about to interrupt him, but Scott was tired and instead continued, closing their mouths shut. "And now, I had gone on to monitor more timelines so I can see the new pattern, so that I can correct it. Ok, I am done," he said removing the effects of his spell.

The Council were exchanging looks, as if they were trying to figure out what everyone was trying to pose. Their faces showed a mix of confusion, surprise and fear. No one was brave enough to ask away, but still, someone had to take the floor. And who was better than the Queen herself.

"Still…when I first met you, you were trying to stay off the grid… Why did you turn yourself in?"

"I am not guilty of anything, so that I would turn myself in and I needed your help."

"Also, when you introduced yourself to me, you told me your parents were far from regular…Who were they?"

"Oh, you know the only Queen whose husband left?"

"Celena the Shy?"

"Yeah, well. Her husband was my father. He left because he was forced to do so because her servants were not pleased serving an inferior race. However, he was still loved and cherished by the then-Queen, so she left a small mark on him… She used a little bit of magic that lodged deep inside his memories… so that she was never forgotten. By doing so, however she infused him with a spell so powerful…It would transfer a bit of magic to the next generation, ergo, me. It sounds unbelievable, but this is the explanation I got from my father as he woke me up from my sleep, telling me there was a unicorn inside their living room. The rest is…pretty much history."

"Hold on…" Rhombulus sounded as if he just woke up from a thousand year old slumber. "If you want to protect the Butterfly princesses, and you've been alive since Celena…how come no other princess had known of your presence?"

"I chose not to directly interact with them. Moon, here, should know that back when she was only nineteen, she learned how to use magic without a wand, because of me."

"How come?" the Queen asked surprised.

"Well, you were, at the time, extremely brainwashed by St. Olga's school for Wayward Princesses, so dipping down, for you, was nearly impossible. Therefore, I made you remember your innocent days, when, as a child, you still had a sense of wonder within you. You unfortunately switched the root of your magic to anger over the years, but that's none of my business. It runs in the family."

"But if you are that old, how come you look like you're only fourteen?" Omnitraxus asked, his voice echoing through space-time.

"Everyone has an hourglass back in father's time dimension. I stopped mine from flowing."

"Still, you have yet to explain how you mastered your spell-casting so much that you had become more powerful than many of us?"

"That's something that I choose not to answer, because of personal reason, just like all of you won't respond to a lot of questions I would pose you."

"Then, I see no other reason to prolong this, so I ask you… how can we help you?" the Queen asked, fear making its wretched presence felt within her speech.

"I need to unite myself once again, because I do not trust…myself. Therefore, I would love it if Omnitraxus could find the timelines with these Stars," he said conjuring a small piece of paper containing a series of unintelligible letters. "This would help me enormously and spare me of a lot of effort that could be fatal."

"Consider it done," Omnitraxus replied to his demand. "You can come here any time to do your magic."

"Anything else?" Hekapoo asked.

"Yeah…There's gonna be a thing going on with Star later today. I'd like you to watch it, and then, when I will return, tell me what you have gathered from it. I may know a lot, but I have my limits, in case you wondered."

"Your request was made and heard," the Queen said.

"Great, then I will gloriously take my leave…I hereby thank the committee for the time it has lost to listen to…me." Scott returned to his former serious self the second he rose from his seat. The Council remained silent until his steps were only faintly heard resonating through the corridor.

"We'll keep an eye on him too, right?" Rhombulus asked.

"No doubt," Hekapoo replied instantly.

"I'll get right on it," Omnitraxus said, fading out from the orb he used to attend the meeting.

Scott appeared just as the band was finishing their hit song, "Too little, too late." He knew what would happen there, at a concert where a track called "Just Friends" was going to be played. He patiently waited Star outside the stadium. The mere sight of her, shook the new Scott. Her eyes, otherwise filled with emotion, were now dead, soulless, showing nothing short of madness. She was walking on a set path, one step following another, mechanically.

"Star… you ok?" Scott asked cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah ,yeah," she replied without as much as blinking.

"Do you feel like you want to talk about what happened inside?" he tried to reach her through his softest voice.

"Nah, I am good," she again replied as if she were programmed to do so. Without any warning she fired a blast in the air, targeted at a Love Sentence banner. He stopped it right away, but as he turned his back to Star, she was gone…

Back at the Diaz household, Scott entered Star's secrets closet. Digging through her piles of randomness, he pulled out a small, rugged book, bearing a couple of strange etches on its cover. Conjuring a pen, he opened it and started writing in English:

"This is to you, Scott, in the event our failsafe…fails. Star Butterfly of dimension zero is on the verge of going rogue. In case of imminent danger, please, under no circumstances, refrain from using what we both know is unspeakable of. Remember your prime directive. Protect the princess…even if it is to protect her from herself. DO NOT ABSTAIN FROM ANYTHING!"

He didn't know whether or not he had done any good by breaking his own rules. But in the ever so likely event of Star being consumed by her jealousy…it's best he was prepared.


	7. 2-4 Peculiar Night

It was the night after the heartbreaking concert. Marco was sound asleep, his snores being heard by the two other underage residents of the household that were not deep in slumber. Scott was downstairs, writing notes into his rugged diary, while Star was lying in bed, unable to close her eyes, deep in thought. It wasn't anything in particular, just that Sandman was avoiding her at the moment. She got up, grabbed her dimensional scissors, opened a portal and, without getting dressed, jumped to a random dimension.

Scott felt that and without any more thought he went to her room, to inspect what's wrong. When he saw the room empty, he immediately pulled out his notebook. Now that he didn't have control over all the dimensions, because his selves were reunited, he had to rely on deduction work in order to find out where she went. Even though he lost his knowledge, he regained his humanity…He accompanied every crossing out of a layer of reality with a heavy sigh, unable to not show his grief. He knew he had a lot of mistakes on his résumé that involved lying and deceiving, but now he felt as if he had the opportunity to erase his wrongs. After only one dimension remained available, he closed his diary with a loud thud and opened another portal, through which he stepped in.

The other end of the portal was not the sight he was hoping to behold. An immense cave opened before his eyes, but he knew that it wasn't a natural occurrence. The edges of the entrance were faintly glimmering with a green light. Scott knew what that meant and decided that he had to hurry up. Without murmuring any words, he casted a spell that shone an extremely powerful light, that split up between the cave's long and sinuous corridors. After a while, the light faded and Scott ran into the darkness.

It wasn't long until echoes of destruction had been picked up by Scott's keen sense of hearing. They did nothing but signal that he was close, as he already knew where he was headed. The blasts were completely unrelated, there was no pattern to them, but they all shared the green glimmer he saw at the beginning of the cave… However, the shade was significantly lighter, telling Scott that the explosions were fresh. After another short while he could literally see the source of all the damage done to the mountain. A skinny, blonde haired girl, bearing a magical wand, her identity needless to state.

She was ready to cast another blast, but a protective bubble contained it. Startled, Star turned around to face the intruder:

"What do you want…?" she said visibly saddened that he had followed her.

"Right now, or long-term?" he answered with an unusual degree of sarcasm in his voice.

"Now," she replied losing her usual gleeful tone.

"Well, first off to stop you, then to help you solve your problems, because that's what I got sent here for."

"And how should I know that you're telling the truth?"

"Beg pardon?"

"You heard me…"

"Yes, and I didn't understand what you meant."

"Great, then smarty-boy," she said, undoubtedly overcome with the need to be alone," let me clear it out for you… I just realized something about you, you know? You came in our lives, preaching that you would help me, but you've done nothing about that. You did nothing but confuse me even more and all you said was unclear and…"

"Lies," he interrupted her. "I lied to you, to your mother, to Marco, and I did it on purpose," he continued in his regular monotone voice.

"Great, you stand by my point. Now, if you are nothing but full of lies, then please tell me why should I trust you?"

He said nothing. It was true, and for the moment, despite having most of his mind intact and memories complete, he had nothing to help him out of this situation. That was until he decided to stop thinking and just act on instinct…go with the flow. He teleported right near her, but that did nothing but make Star fire a surprised blast, that missed him by an inch. They both recoiled and were now staying about 6 feet one from another. Seeing that blinking towards her did nothing but strike fear, he decided to go for a slower approach. Scott walked until she was sitting at arm's length from him, grabbed her hand, and looking her in the eyes, whispered:

"My name is Scott. I am nothing but a human who stumbled upon a bunch of magical powers and assumed the role of a protector to your family in order to honor his father, who served the Butterfly royal line as a trusty general. I had been trained in my accidentally learned skill by a spell caster who couldn't have been more luckily found. I am nothing but a fraud that has been perpetuating for generations now, due to a curse and here I am now, exposing myself to the most powerful princess there is and the only one to surpass me in power, ever. This is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

Star was a bit surprised at first, but it faded away instantly…

"This doesn't move me in the least."

"Then let me continue. I did all this, because it worked before with your mother and her mother before that. They were weaker, brainwashed princesses who retained little to nothing of their personality. Their defining trait was the only one left and it was amplified to extreme lengths. I failed to protect your most prized possessions twice, both the wand and the book, being damaged or stolen, while I was yawning, unaware of that. Only when Glossaryck reached out to me, I had started taking action. I was nothing but a still inexperienced teacher and immature person, even if I lived for hundreds of years, because of the aforementioned magical being. Therefore, I split myself into many other selves in order to better understand the problem, but it only made it worse, because I lost sight of everything. Only recently, I had regained my senses and saw all the trouble I had caused."

"Again, this doesn't warm me in the least…" Star said copying his bland tone.

"I've only got one more point, that's bound to change this," he said trying to sound funny. "I knew my duty from the very point I exposed it to your mother. However, I had nothing." His voice was shaking as if he was on the brink of crying, but he still had a firm grip on himself. "I desperately tried to mask my incompetence by showing off my varied set of powers, that, although were extensively trained, were nothing close to yours. My alternate versions have tried once to get a grip on what you feel, but they both managed to barely graze the surface. I failed miserably and I'm here now because I want to prove that a plethora of wrongs can make a right…So please…Let me help you now so that you can help me…"

Star had shook her hand from his, and turned her back to him. Scott however could see that she was shaking, but it wasn't clear to any of them why. She faced him again and with a cold smile on her lips, charged a blast. Scott's eyes widened as he finally realized what had happened to her after the concert…She had been corrupted and torn apart by her envy and sadness. Scott, however was only surprised, not scared. He knew what to do in order to return her to her usual path. He summoned a portal on the ceiling of the cave and a mattress right below it, predicting that Marco will be falling from the sky.

The second he appeared, Star's colorless eyes returned to their delightful blue hue. Now he knew a sign of her insanity…

"You calmed down, now?"

"WHERE THE HECK AM I?" she yelled almost waking Marco up, had Scott not already being in the process to send him back.

"You're in a random dimension, because you were overcome with grief and jealousy and let them control you…Literally."

"Ummm…really?"

"Yeah…Now, since you have no memory of what I told you and since you're under a lot of stress, let me just say that I'm going to try and solve your problems, right here, right now…First off, a healthier environment."

Without letting Star say anything he transported them both on top of the mountain, Star had destroyed within. The view was…breathtaking. The blue moon shining, surrounded by a crown of stars, the soft soothing sound of the forest…Tranquility reigned over the land. Scott hoped that it would be a perfect place for his psychotherapy.

"So…Star…how do I put it…? What's up with you and Marco?"

"We're friends, best friend for that matter…"

"And you are ok, with that?"

"I am fine," she said, but her eye twitching signaling she was lying, hard.

"Yeah, what happened before pretty much says you're hiding the truth…"

"Yeah, I don't think so…"

"So, you're perfectly ok with the following: You had tried to make Jackie feel included into your shenanigans, while you, yourself had been left out. You had been completely crushed by Marco, and even though he tried to make sure you're ok with it, you pushed him away…over and over again. You were completely unable to face the music, as it only amplified your grief and sadness, and you still enjoyed it even though it sang your life, filled with angst as it was. You tried to destroy a symbol of you and Marco's 'thing' while you lied to yourself…saying continuously that you were fine… You believed and didn't believe that you felt nothing and this is what is eating you, tearing you to shreds…Did I get that right?"

Scott's keen hearing suddenly went deaf. He couldn't hear his "protégée" sobbing, but he could feel her warm tears wetting his arm. Now that he was complete again, he knew how to react. He hugged her, sitting in utter silence as she slowly let her feelings get the best of her…Her cries grew louder and more painful, not seeming that she would stop anytime soon, but without any warning she raised her head, and still crying, mumbled to him:

"How do… you… know that?"

"I've lied a lot in the past: to you, to your mother, but I didn't lie when I said I will help you face your feelings. Even though, you are aware of them, you choose to ignore them…cover them up, consciously so. Why is that?"

In-between sobs, she found the time to answer.

"I…don't know."

"Well, do you want to know what I think?" He sounded mean, but that was unintentionally.

"S…sure," she stuttered, her weeping slowing down.

"I think that you are completely unsure of what you feel and that you choose to live in an eternal warzone. You are the battlefield and your emotions are the combatants. You don't know whether or not you want you and Marco to be "Just Friends"," he said using air quotes," or something else. This insecurity is amplified whenever Jackie enters the picture, because she is a known romantic interest. Since you've dated before you know how it goes, and so you're scared that you will lose your friend to someone else, but at the same time you are afraid that you will lose him as…well, Marco."

"I am not sure I follow you…"

"Well, then let me put it this way, then… I would like you to explicitly state what you feel towards Marco, as simple as that."

Star paused for a while, preparing for what would blow Scott's mind…

"It's NOT as simple as that, Scott…I could say what I feel, but, you said it…I don't know it. I don't know what I am thinking, I don't know how I'm feeling, I don't know anything… Ever since the world decided to crash down on me, I am completely lost…Every day, I try to stay happy and positive, and it works for some time, but when involuntarily I remember…all of this, I just…tune down. And so Star becomes a shooting star, falling through the night sky… I can't tell what triggers this, but I know it's there…It's this uncertainty that's bugging me and is…destroying me. I don't think I can stop it, but…you might be able to…Please…help me."

Her voice was filled with sorrow and it could make even a stone cry…But Scott didn't know what to say to solve this. He admitted to it, but this didn't change anything. As the silence between them grew more awkward his mind grew emptier…He didn't experience anything like this before. He was fourteen in appearance and in frame of mind, but he was also hundreds of years old, which distanced him from a lot of teen angst. Plus, he was trained by Glossaryck, so his social skills and emotional knowledge were limited from the start. He tried to fill in the holes, but this doesn't mean he succeeded in doing so… He had a pretty astounding understanding of the human psychology, but relationships went far beyond… Remaining out of options he tried logical reasoning…which lead to him saying this:

"Have you tried…you know…coming clean?"

"What?"

"Y'know…confessing this?"

"No…I can't do that…"

"Why…? I think it's the only option…"

"Duuuuude," she said imitating Jackie's voice. "He's got a girlfriend…you know, like a relationship?" She was using her usual gestures to articulate, meaning that she was back to her regular self. "Saying this would, just make things more awkward…" She also adopted a different position, resting her feet comfortably on his lap, as she was staring at the clear night sky.

"Then…duuuuuude, you'll be in a lot of awkwardness, but you'll have to do it… You can't fight the great evil, while you are completely out of control…Oh." That oh, was foreshadowing her answer.

"Oh, really? I'd say I've done a pretty good job for the past six months…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but…still. You can't say that you're not scared that sometime you will completely snap, right? It happened now, but what is the guarantee that it won't happen when we are fighting? Plus, even the fact that it happened is extremely worrying…"

Star didn't answer. She just stood there, silently stargazing.

"Why do you think this is all happening now?"

"Umm…Ugh…" Scott stammered as if he was avoiding to answer the question. Star took note of that.

"You know it don't you?"

"Umm…yeah, I do," he said disappointed. "I am kinda not allowed to tell you this…"

"Why?"

"Star, I mess with timelines regularly…I have an immense track record for disturbing them and derailing their course, without creating another one…which is bad. At the moment, hindsight is going to be unforgivable…Plus, jumping through Father's work grants me a pretty decent amount of foresight and that is literally strictly forbidden, there is no way…" he got silenced by a playful kick in the stomach.

"Stop derailing and answer me…" she said still lost in the constellations up above.

"Fine…But I am putting my butt on the line for that, FYI. Remember Tom's plan?"

"Tom's plan…? Umm…oh, yeah. He tried to dance with me under the Blood Moon at the ball, so our souls would…bind," she said recreating the binding gesture.

"Remember how it worked out?"

"Yeah, I danced with Marco, and the he got angry and …WHAT?"

"It took you only 5 months…" Scott said jokingly and mockingly at the same time.

"So, you mean…the Blood Moon…the ball…the dance…"

"Yep, they all tied up, eventually."

"So…it's not my fault? So you're telling me, that…"

"It is…" however, her apparent victory was blocking her from hearing him.

"It's nothing but a curse, and that I…"

"Star, it's your fault…" she was on the brink of exploding, so she let her have her moment.

"I am not actually a bad person! Yaaaaaaaaay!" She said, while shaking joyfully from every joint, like a kid who just won at a crane game.

"You done?"

"Almost," she said while shooting a pink blast in the sky that exploded causing a matrix of fireworks. It was her way of announcing the defeat of her insecurity. Scott was now actually wondering whether or not he should tell her. On the one hand she was now extremely happy and maybe his quest would finally end, but on the other hand it could recoil and backfire, destroying his work so far. He chose the mature side and decided to…:

"STAR!" he said shaking her, so that she would come to her senses.

"YES!" she answered mimicking his gestures.

"You are still to blame, you know…This curse thing doesn't mean that you have no fault…"

"I don't see how this could be…"

"Well, let me give you a brief history over that demonic blood moon, whose effects are the only one not to be capable of being countered…yet. It binds the souls of two people together…but it's not that kind of bond…but it could be… I don't know how to put it…It's not a romantic kind of thing. It can become one, but it isn't bound to happen…So the fact that you chose to let it go on this path…It's still your fault…"

"Oh, okay then…"

"Wait…you're not sad?"

"No, why would I be?"

"Because you can't justify your feelings through a curse anymore?"

"What?" she asked surprised only to immediately realize what he meant." Oh, I wasn't happy about that… I was actually glad that I finally got some closure, you know? Getting a grip on the situation," she said with her usual playful voice.

"Huh…Well, I guess this is pretty much it…Welp, I can only conclude that today was an extremely productive session. Oh, by the way, say hello to your Mom, she's been watching us through that seemingly cleverly hidden eye in that bush."

As he said that, the eye started to shiver as if it were an actual being. Scott lifted it up in the air and they both laughed at how clumsily he was struggling to escape.

"You know, Moon, if you want to keep an eye on me, I can do that, but I would like to know it, first, not being forced to notice your…pathetic attempt. "

"Hi, mooom" Star yelled from behind Scott, waving her arms frantically trying to grab the attention of her viewer.

Crushing the eye on a rock, Scott jumped from the ledge the two had and helped his friend down too. Without saying anything to each other the two returned to their own dimension. Their last interaction for the day was a friendly "Good night" followed by Star's door slamming behind her.


	8. A New End

Toffee had managed to decimate the High Magic Council and absorb all their powers, all while leaving Lekmet completely spread throughout Ludo's castle. Hekapoo, Rhombulus and Omnitraxus Prime were lying unconscious on the floor and Moon was barely drawing breath. This was a truly disturbing sight to behold for Scott who had just appeared through the portal, following his usual visit to Glossaryck…

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"R…Run," Moon faintly tried to warn him, but she passed out instantly.

"Oh, well, well, if it isn't the Royal Family puppy…How have you been Saturn?"

"Spare me of your banter, Toffee, what do you want?"

"Nothing, now…I've accomplished my purpose and now I can retreat, but I must say…Seeing you here is triggering my gluttony. Maybe, I'll absorb your power as well and leave," he said, a wicked tendril already popping out from his corrupted right arm…

"Dream on, Toffee. I've beat you countless times, and I will beat you again. Or merely incapacitate you, you immortal scum," Scott tried sounding brave, but his voice was shaking.

"Then, let it be an honorable fight until the end. Any last wishes?"

"Well, actually I have one…Let me teleport these guys back to their homes. They had suffered enough, don't you think?"

"A fair request. I had never been one for compassion, but I always appreciated you honor, Scott. You'd have been a great force of evil, but you chose this path."

Scott smiled bitterly. He spawned 4 portals for each of the still living member of the council and sent them back to their home dimensions…Unbeknownst of Toffee, Scott had gathered the ashes of Lekmet as well and, using his extremely specific powers, gathered them in an urn and put a note on the vase, reading: "Keep safe, Moon!" Omnitraxus was back in the Time-Space, Rhombulus in his Crystal Palace, Hekapoo in her forgery and Moon in Star's room.

"You're done?"

"I am," Scott sighed knowing what will come next. He realized that if he had called Star to help, she would fall victim to Toffee's ungodly influence and lose herself to her envy…Scott also knew that even though his power was still slightly bigger than Toffee's, the monster would find a way to even the odds. The only thing he could do now was tire him and come up with a plan…

"It is with a heavy heart that I will remember your death, Saturn."

"It's been Scott for two hundred years now, Toffee. Save your comments, they do nothing but add to your…patheticalness."

"My lips…are sealed," Toffee said with a wicked smile, as, with a flick of his monstrous hand, conjured a blast of abnormal proportions. Scott didn't flinch, surrounding himself with his protective shield. His attack had no effect on him. To retaliate, the boy had summoned a horde of beasts to attack the monster… He didn't budge and obliterated them all with one swift shockwave. Still on the offensive, Scott tried his blasts as well, but they were completely powerless. Even though, most of his strength was put into his attacks, they all bounced off him. An unholy smirk crossed Toffee's face and with an unconceivable amount of force, he flung a tidal wave at him. Scott didn't move at first and shielded himself from the humongous force of nature…It hit the diamond shaped capsule with a staggering blow, and the raw power was…overwhelming, causing his defense to crackle, but not to break.

Scott took note of that. His fear grew bigger, but he was spared of the effect of his emotions over his spellcasting, due to him being extremely in control of his feelings. But there was something odd. Magic didn't grow in power all of a sudden…It's either at a capped full power or a fraction of that. Did Toffee hold back at first? Or did his power bloom instantly?

"Where is the honor in not giving all in in a fight, demon?"

"Trust me, mortal, I am not sparing you," he laughed maniacally as he went for the same tendril attack he first used.

Crafting a magical shield in each of his hand, Scott began his strange hand to hand combat with Toffee. He was reckless, but somehow calculated at the same time. Every blow was stronger than the latter…more precise… His white shield was starting to falter and crumble, but his enemy wasn't getting tired. A crushing punch sent him flying across the room, but he recovered after hitting the ground, jumping to his feet. So, hand to hand was out of the question and soon enough he was running out of options…

He had to wear him off, exhaust him or just stun him for a period of time, so that he can reunite with his other self, but the latter was impossible at the moment. Toffee had given up, for now, gloating as he saw how powerless his enemy was. He couldn't help but showcase his arrogance:

"Getting tired already? I thought you'd be more of a challenge!" he said while wildly charging towards Scott. Seeing how fast he was going, he decided to avoid the attack rather than parrying, so he quickly jumped into a portal and appeared behind Toffee.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me. I have Hekapoo's powers," he said as he conjured a portal of his own, which he used to briefly disappear. Five more had taken their place, each spawning their own version of Toffee. It was clear that only one was the real one, but he was sure that the devious beast had some other tricks up his sleeve…

Back at the Diaz household, Queen Moon was starting to regain consciousness. At first she was a bit disoriented, but then she recognized the background she saw time and time again behind her daughter. It was Star's room, back on Earth. The urn beside her was also of unknown origin, but as soon as she looked inside it, she remembered what had happened. Suddenly she heard footsteps, and the door opened.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" her daughter asked confused as to why the Queen visited her.

"Star," she said breathing heavily, making big pauses after every word. "We must leave for Mewni at once…You are no longer safe here." Star didn't understand her very clearly, after all the woman was visibly weakened, so, with an innocent tone, she asked her:

"What danger? Is this a ruse to get me back home?"

"No…Why would I say that?" she 'yelled' desperately. "A great evil has been uncovered and Earth isn't safe anymore…You'll continue your training back home, under our continuous supervision…I am sorry, but I don't believe you'll see this place anytime soon…"

"Why? What's going on?"

"No time…Scott's holding him back… We must go," the Queen was now apparently delirious, barely making any sense, on the brink of passing out again, having been drained of most of her powers.

"Who's being held back? What's going on?"

"I…I…"

Oblivious to her mother's poor condition, Star threw a fit:

"Well, if you're not going to tell me what's going on, I'm heading back for the party…See ya." She was slowly walking away, in what Queen Moon felt like hours rather than seconds. However, gathering all of her strength, she managed to utter another word, before falling to the ground.

"T…Toffee."

As she heard that name, she had frozen solid. Only now did she realize the gravity of the situation… She tried to find out more from her unconscious mother, but she was knocked out cold. Maybe it was for the better, she needed to rest. Star left the room, after levitating her mother on her bed, and went to grab Marco. He wasn't hard to find, but he looked pretty distracted, as if he was trying to tell her something…unsettling. Not having time for this, she cut him short and went straight to the subject:

"Marco, mom is upstairs lying unconscious, after fighting Toffee, the undead lizard dude, and I need you to take care of her, while I go to fight him." Marco was about to interrupt her, but she was faster: "No time to argue, come on!" she continued, grabbing his hand and forcing him to go upstairs. He was baffled at the sight of the passed out woman on Star's bed, but couldn't find words to express his amazement…

"Great, now just stay here as I go find Toffee, ok?"

"Ok!" Marco nodded as Star used her dimensional scissors to tear a portal through her room, to which she swiftly jumped, wand in hand.

At the other end of the portal, Star found the same unsettling view Scott found, only that the roles were reversed. Now the boy was lying defeated on the ground, and she was the almighty being that came to save them all… As soon as she set foot on the castle's floor, Scott got up to his feet, his eyes wide with awe.

"STAR! Why are you here? Go back, now, before Toffee finds you!"

"What? Why? I came to help!" she exclaimed voluntarily.

"You don't understand…"

"I've got my fill of that plate, thanks. Now let's fight some monsters!"

"Star Butterfly!" Toffee's ragged tone echoed through the room, as he appeared through a portal of his own. "I was almost done with your friend, here and now you came? I'd love to have you for dessert!"

"Eat this!" she said attacking him with her signature Narwhal Blast.

"NO!" Scott yelled his lungs out, but it was too late. The blast was…absorbed by Toffee's monstrous body.

"Star..."

"What was that? Narwh-" but Scott hit her hand, causing her attack to blow up a hole in the wall.

"HE FEEDS OFF OF MAGIC!" he yelled, relieved that he managed to avert the danger.

"Indeed. And I think I will finish my feast here then take my leave. I am pretty full."

Toffee had started charging a blast above his head…It seemed as if the monster was using Omnitraxus' power to infuse his attack with celestial power… The raw magic took the form of the galaxy as the time spent casting passed. Grabbing Star's hand, Scott ran and hid behind a fallen piece of ceiling, a huge rock basically. Star's expression contained equal doses of fear and confusion and a slight hint of anger.

"So, what's going on?" Star innocently asked, with her usual high-spirited attitude. Scott smiled, but then sadness overcame him.

"Look, Star, we've got a while to talk before he obliterates us, so might as well. Toffee had managed to destroy any ties of this dimension with others, so I can't leave this place, nor teleport and neither can you. That attack that he is charging is undodgeable and uninterruptable and now that you came here we are doomed, both of us. Now for the exposition part. Toffee has absorbed your mother's and the Council's powers and has greatly surpassed my power…by draining mine as well. Now…we don't really have a choice, Star. We will die in here and the two most powerful beings in the universe will fall, leaving Toffee to rule over the whole universe…"

"Two most powerful beings?"

"Yeah, you and me. And now…we can only give up and accept our fate. Oh, yeah it would've been great if you told Marco you had a crush on him, you know just as the last resort." Scott was as annoying as he was when he was apathetic and completely devoid of any feelings. Star hated people who completely resigned at the sign of trouble, but in a way…she understood him… I mean, the way he portrayed their situation, it was entirely helpless. Still…she couldn't just lose hope, it simply wasn't her.

"Hey, chin up there, sad boy. We can still find a way...how much time do we still have?"

"ABOUT FIVE MINUTES!" Toffee answered Star's question.

"Yeah, like that. The more powerful Toffee gets, the more obnoxious he becomes…Stupid demon."

"Okay, we got five minutes to come up with a plan. Fire away," she said making a finger gun and pointing it at Scott.

"You know, since we are helplessly stuck here, I could tell you something. I had always admired your attitude, ever since I started monitoring you."

"When was that?"

"The second you receive your wand, I started. The second you give away your wand, I will start watching over your daughter, but alas, this is my last time. Anyway, back to what I admire about you…Regardless the situation, you always pick yourself up, dust yourself off and then just go on with your life…You are really just like Marco in that matter."

"Well, since we are on the subject of opinions of each other…You know, what I admire about you? The fact that whatever the situation, you always kept a level head, never overreacting, never not caring. Just analyzing the facts, sitting there, thinking the situation through…I mean look at you, literally three minutes before dying you are not even scared…"

"Neither are you, Star, what's your point?"

"I am freaking out internally…"

"So am I. I am scared out of my mind, but I learnt to control my emotions a long time ago…"

"Looks, like so did I," she said with a smile.

"Well, then…it seems that I was useful at least. I'd go to the afterlife pleased…"

Star looked dismayed. She knew that she was about to be completely destroyed by an immense blast, but somehow she was…at peace with that, but still, she thought she could still do something. Suddenly…a broad smile crossed her face, and she got up, starting to cast the All-Seeing Eye spell.

"You're trying to take a sneak peek at your room and Marco, before you go out?"

"Better. I'm gonna get us out of here!" After she said that, she pushed her arm into the flat screen the spell conjured. It was getting funny after a while, but Scott was not being amused.

"What are you doing?" he asked a bit surprised after he saw the dedication in her eyes.

"No time to explain! Make me feel stuff, fast!" Star yelled at him as Toffee was about to fire his enormous projectile.

"Ummm, ok, fine, I guess. You will perish here... You will leave so many people behind just because you tried to be a hero…"Seeing that the hearts on her cheeks started lighting up, he continued, putting more effort in it, trying to see where it leads. "You will never see Pony Head or the bounce lounge again… None of your friends will understand why you left, your mother will be completely smashed and so will your father…" He felt that she was almost close to her tipping point so he had to top it all off with the last thing he could think off…"And, perhaps the most important… You will never be able to give Marco the closure he needs after the concert."

That was enough…Her eyes were now glowing with the same hue as her cheeks. Scott didn't understand why she was still hopelessly pushing her arm against the screen…He laid back, his back against the rock, listening to Toffee's war scream as he unleashed his 'special attack'. He could feel the gravitational pull of his galaxy sphere as it closed in on him, and Star was still desperately trying to merge with her spell…But what happened next, made Scott rethink his life up until this point…Suddenly Star's arm went through the screen, physically touching the bed sheets on the other side…She soon pushed her shoulder in and her left leg as well…She was bypassing Toffee's dimensional ban, using a spell that wasn't even meant for transportation. That was amazing, but it was a bit of too little too late. Scott's coat was being blown away by the raging gravitational pull, so they had about five seconds left to live…The rock they were hiding behind had its top part already sucked in.

This emotional stress acted like a boost for Star. In one swift motion, she grabbed Scott's hands and found her power of will to be stronger than the universe's laws…They both passed through her makeshift portal and as they looked back to their screen, they saw how powerful Toffee's attack actually was… Scott was speechless.

"St…Sta…Star…How did yo… Where did tha…H…" he stammered trying to find any way of expressing himself… She put her finger over his mouth.

"Shhh, it's okay. You're welcome."

"Oh, Star! I am so glad you're safe!" her mother hug-attacked her from behind and almost suffocated her, should Star not pull out soon enough.

"Okay, mom, could you please not try to kill me," she said smiling.

"Don't I get a hug, too?" Marco asked, showing that he was extremely glad she was ok. He didn't have to ask twice as she was already strangulating him. However…the mood was soon ruined by the Queen.

"Toffee?"

"Free and more powerful than ever."

"Sigh…Well, unfortunately, that settles it," the Queen said fully recovered. "Star, we are leaving for Mewni…I am sorry."

"WHAT?" she yelled, the windows shaking at the pitch of her scream.

"I am sorry, Star, but I can't let you on Earth even if I left Scott with you. Toffee will not dare to attack the castle for a while, but he will completely obliterate this house in one instant. You need to be protected…"

"B…But…"

"Star," Scott said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "That's the only way…I am sorry…We'll give you two minutes to say your goodbye, but we need to hurry…" Scott looked at Queen Butterfly who nodded understandingly. Star sighed heavily, staring blankly at her feet for a while…lost in thought.

"Star…you ok?" Scott asked.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"No, Marco, nothing is alright…I have to leave Earth…forever, maybe, and I think this is the best time to fix things up between us…Even though, I know what I said, I lied. I do have a crush on you, but I didn't want to come out, because it was obvious you didn't feel the same. I was hoping that pretending the feelings weren't there would make them, go away, but…" she stuttered at the last part, tears choking her. She couldn't say another word…She ran off into the portal and so did the Queen. Scott held back one more second in order to look at Marco.

There are no words to describe the connection the two made…In a fraction of a second, the warm, soothing green eyes of Scott met Marco's hazel and confused… He was trying to tell him everything is going to be fine, but both were sure that it wouldn't happen. With a friendly wave, he left as well, and along came the entire room. Star's whole existence on Earth was reduced to a hole in the wall.

Marco kneeled before the clear sky, disappointed and filled with sorrow. He couldn't believe his eyes and ears…Star was gone…And unaware, he was going to miss her most, being the first and only person in the world to make this kind of impression on him. As he fought back his tears, he saw a note flying above his head. Fearfully he grabbed it mid-air and read it aloud. It had Scott's 'handwriting' on it…

"Marco, I am not allowed to say that, but I can't help myself when I saw the amount of…What you two have is amazing, and I have to tell you this…If you truly care about Star…Whenever you have time, master your dimensional scissors skills…And when you think you're done, come to Mewni. You'll have to seek us there too…Good luck, Marco, and, until further notice…

Farewell…"

Back at her castle, Star locked herself in the room…Outside, the Queen was talking to Scott who was mimicking Lekmet's revival spell to bring back the members of the Council…He knew of the bargain he had to make, but he was immortal…

"Are you sure about this?"

"I have lived too much and did too little in my eternity. I rebuke my dark immortality to bring light and life to others. Besides," he said with the bitter smile he had repeated throughout the day. "This is my last tie-in with your family…I was offered a life away from everything after my thorough service…I will be glad to spend my life helping you…"

One by one, Hekapoo and Rhombulus were brought back to life and Omnitraxus back to…whatever he is… Scott fell weakened on a sofa behind him, but spoke with his same determined voice.

"We need to make a plan, now. Any ideas? No? Great," he glared at the silent, yet as weakened as him, council. "Look, what we need to do. I will be prompt as time is of the essence. We need to focus our efforts on training Star, finding Glossaryck and delaying Toffee."

"And how will we do any of that? None of us still has our powers…" Hekapoo cut him short, trying to clone herself, but failing in the process.

"Wait, I can't freeze things anymore? And my arms are dead?" Rhombulus exclaimed flailing his snake limbs aimlessly.

"Yes, you are powerless and Toffee is more powerful than ever, but there is still hope… We still have Star…"

"And you," Moon completed him, but then covered her mouth, realizing what she said.

"No, you are right, you've got me too. I destroyed the balance and I will do my best to restore it. But, Star is the most important piece of the puzzle. Her full potential greatly surpasses mine and I can be, but the light that guides you through the darkest night."

"You two should be enough to stop Toffee, you reckon?" Moon asked.

"I have three months to train Star. Toffee will be waiting for the Dark Night, in order to storm our castle, that's when his powers will be at max. However, don't be fooled, he will not hesitate to skirmish with us until then…"

Scott stopped suddenly. He had one more thing to say, everyone saw that, but for some reason he hesitated to say it. After a short while he started chanting in an ancient tongue, that none of the members knew. Exhausted after he finished, he said in one breath:

"Moon, the castle is not safe…Toffee will watch it…I must ask you to let me take Star to a completely secluded place that no one knows of…"

"You got my blessing," Moon answered dauntless. " I had lost hope and now that we are on a set part to regain it again, I will do nothing but accept it. Do whatever you see fit. What should we do in the meantime?" Scott's breath regularized, but with hastily made gestures, he signaled the lot that their time was limited. A note appeared in front of everyone, reading: "My spell is wearing off."

"I don't know… I only know that we will need an army to fight what Toffee will unleash upon us…Moon, you manage the situation here…I must go and prepare…Goodbye and good night," Scott replied as he got up and headed to Star's room.

From outside he could hear her heartbreaking sobs and he could feel the pain in her tears. He knocked a few times, but did not wait for an answer…She couldn't hear his heavy footsteps creaking on every single floorboard…Silently, he sat down near her, his gaze hovering on the lovely furniture in her room. For a long time silence reigned over the lonely chamber…

"I screwed up, didn't I?" Star said in-between hiccups…

He said nothing. He didn't have to…He just opened his arms and in a second, his shoulder was wet with tears…

Star woke up to Scott bringing her breakfast in bed. She was pleasantly surprised to see that, but also extremely confused as to why he was doing this.

"Consider this a way of lifting your spirits…You looked very down last night and I hoped this could get you back on the gleeful track you are bound to always be on…"

"That's so nice of you," she exclaimed, moved. "You didn't have to do that."

Scott didn't answer, but he smiled and left the room, so she could eat in peace. He carefully constructed a healthy and extremely Star-like breakfast: Unicorn-shaped pancakes paired with maple syrup and glittered muffins on the side. She ate like a starving prisoner and as soon as the last bit of equine went down her throat, her loyal servant, Scott was back to pick up the dishes. He then left to let the princess change into her regular attire.

After she was done, she wandered through the castle she had grown estranged from, asking herself how did it change so much in almost a year… As she was aimlessly walking the corridors, she stumbled upon the kitchen where, the only noise in the entire palace was coming from. Entering, she saw Scott washing the dishes by hand, not by using magic…

"Why are you doing that?" She asked, amazed that he, a magical being, was doing something magicless…

"It helps me…Doing manual labor reminds me of my humble origins…I had become what I had become because of doing this… Take a seat in the living room, please. I have a lot to tell you."


	9. The New Home

"So what do you want to tell me, Scott?" Star asked, while hugging the extremely fluffy pillow on the sofa.

"Well…does this seem like your castle?"

"Not really…where are we?"

"We are in one of my old residences, one from three hundred years ago to be more precise. It is completely off the grid for anyone and it's protected by an ancient magical barrier. It cannot be spied on, seen and you can't enter it through portals. We, however are the only ones who can come and go at will. Oh, if you're thinking of bringing someone in, you won't be able to…"

"Ooookay," Star said a bit creeped out. "And why did you do all of this?"

"Because as we speak, Toffee is watching every corner of the world, thanks to him absorbing Omnitraxus' power and I can't risk anything at the moment."

"Well, thanks for all, but don't you think that this is a bit…overdoing it?"

For a second, Scott rethought his plan. Maybe she was right, but that faint voice disappeared as he realized that what he was doing was the better way. The new awakened evil was not going to give them any chance to make mistakes, so whatever measure could be taken, had to be taken…

"No… I am sorry if this displeases you, but I can't afford taking any risks. Also, I must speed up your training. You have the morning off, but after lunch we will start. Feel free to roam the corridors of the castle, but…"

"But don't go in that dark room on the end of the furthest hallway, I know the instructions. I have lived in a castle for most of my life…"Star said tired of, seemingly hearing this ruse over and over again.

"That is…my room, you know? I wanted to tell you that you can't leave the castle for the first couple of days, until Toffee cools down. I'll leave you to explore. If you need anything, I'll be in the aforementioned living quarters." With that, Scott opened a portal and vanished through it.

Star didn't know what to do until the afternoon. She decided to do what her friend told her and wander around the many rooms of the castle, but first, she went to the balcony so she could admire the astonishing view… Scott had truly lived in a beautiful place, set where the sky meets the land. The mountain range in the distance, harbored a forest which exulted with life and joy. Inside the woods, a clearing let her view the beautiful crystal clear water of the heart-shaped lake. As her eyes took in the amazing landscape, more and more was uncovered in the foreground of nature's stage. The castle's courtyard was a maze of hedges, each exit and entrance leading to all sorts of flowers…she recognized orchids, lilies, roses of all colors, tulips…She couldn't help herself anymore. With a carefully power-balanced blast, aimed at her feet, she was propelled into the air, then with another blast she slowed her descent, as she landed in the middle of the green labyrinth. She didn't notice that the square shaped walls were themselves covered with marigold, buttercups and cherry blossoms, which added to their beauty.

As she was busy losing herself in her 'prison' she suddenly heard an extremely familiar sound, which made her jump with joy. It was the known neigh that only a warnicorn can emit. Without thinking twice, she repeated her launch procedure and was soon standing in front of a never-ending stable. The unicorns were arranged in a weird order, chromatic wise. The first few were black as a raven's feathers, then the next few were white as the moon. The remaining were, in order, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and last in line were the pink ones. There was also an empty stable, but she didn't notice it at a glance.

Star didn't have the greatest attention span when she was excited. Therefore the yiffs and barks of the great variety of puppies from the enclosure nearby attracted her as a magnet does to iron. The small Chihuahuas, the massive Saint Bernards, the playful Retrievers and the delightful poodles were all ganging up on her, suffocating her with an avalanche of cuteness. After a while, she decided she had enough dog drool on her face and waved goodbye to the cute little critters and resumed her adventure in her new home.

There wasn't anything else to be seen in the yard apart from all of the cute animals, so she headed inside. Thankfully, the hallways were mapped and labeled, each room bearing a neat little sign, so that Star could know at all times where she was. The ground floor even had a little chart, resembling those in a mall, and on it there was a small note, Scott's signature move…

"Remove this after you read it, Star. This is so you don't ever get lost, because this place is really big… Have a nice trip, and thank you for choosing Scott's castle."

"Typical…" she exclaimed with a smile on her face. "Then…let's check out…" she tried to decide where to go, by sliding her finger across the map. "The Glitter Depot…? Oooh, that sounds cool, let's check that out!" she said conjuring a little cloud, to serve as her trusty mount during her time inside. The Glitter Depot was nothing short of what its name made it to be. Enormous shelves filled with glorious amounts of glitter, glitter glue and other glittery related stuff. Needless to say that she was reflecting all light when she exited on her shiny cloud.

"Oki, what's next?" She said consulting the map….

She had about ten minutes before she had to go to the kitchen to find the source of that godlike smell. She was a princess, but nonetheless she had never experienced such a culinary related pleasure…and she didn't even taste it. It looked like Scott had some talents she was unaware of…She was studying the map, when she noticed something rather peculiar. There was an immense and poignant label that she didn't see before. The Glitter Depot, the Kitten Rack, the Rainbow Shelter, they were all part of "Star's stuff." There was another rather large group labeled "Scott's things." She thought it'd be great to find out what was in that corner of the castle.

That part was pretty strange…It had no windows, so it was pretty dark. She resorted to the flashlight function of her wand in order to light her way. The labels were pretty clear and bland, a set apart from the puns he employed to cleverly name her things. She stopped in front of the library, a small door, about her height, but she had to bend over a bit to enter the room. Little was her awe when she found one of the biggest libraries she had ever been in, fitting in what was seemingly a minuscule place. The bookshelves were stretching as high as the ceiling and filled with all sorts of books, ranging from heavy to light, from thick to thin and from old to shiny new. She had a few minutes to spare, so why not spend it doing something completely tedious and boring. In the middle of the imposing and condescending maze of knowledge there lied a small table, a petite lamp on top of it providing the only light in an otherwise dark place. A book was open there, its title barely readable. She could only make out something resembling the word "history", but the book was ancient… Its pages were nicely preserved, though, the writing was clearer and the language used was surprisingly modern. It was handwritten…Star gasped as she realized what that was. It was Scott's book…

For a short while she wondered whether she should read it or not. In the end, curiosity greatly outweighed her care for his privacy, so she began her foreboding voyage inside the book…The first pages gave away what that piece of art stood for. It was an auto-biography and judging by the amount of detail he gave in it, she could be sure that it was…the truth and nothing but the truth. She skipped through a small preface that he wrote, the only peculiar thing she noticed being a weird set of words, etched on the corner of the age-old pages. She tried reading them:

"Koob eht ni nwod og. That's an odd phrase, what does it do…"

It wasn't long until she found out. After the last bit of the spell was spoken, the book started shaking wildly, its pages flipping rapidly. The noise fell like thunder on the utter silence of the otherwise quiet library. Scared, Star tried closing it and run away, but the covers were stiff as if they were glued to the table. She tried to leave the room, but as soon as she got up, a purple tendril, created by Scott's enigmatic memorandum, grabbed hold of her leg, making her trip. Three more spawned and took control of her other free limbs, and slowly but surely started pulling her inside the book. Slowly was an understatement, as in less than ten seconds she was already inside…The book was now resting closed on the small coffee table, the isolated chamber returning to its lugubrious calm.

Star was knocked cold by the experience and awoke to find herself lying down on a long, yet narrow corridor, sprouting doors every twenty or so feet. The doors were simple, yet different, following the same pattern as the stables outside, the only exception being that white came before black…She didn't know where she was, or why she got sucked in the book, but she was determined to find out, and what better way of doing so, apart from exploring? Star just touched the chalk white door's handle and it vanished, melting before her very eyes as the door burned in an instant. The hallway around her turned black, swallowing her and throwing her up into an infinite void…As sudden as colors faded from her world, they reappeared, painting the scenery of a forest. It wasn't very different from those back in Mewni, but what set apart this rather mundane landscape were the small houses just outside it.

There was a small village on the edge of the woods. At first glance, it seemed deserted, but as Star walked closer, she could hear the usual ruckus of a settlement. Merchants crying, women yelling, kids screaming, the cacophony of sounds reminded her of the times she spent strolling down the streets of her hometown. It was a truly melancholic experience… The people there didn't seem to notice her, she was nothing but a mere spectator to the show they put on. It was weird at first, but it somehow made sense, even though she didn't have any clue why.

A bigger cottage stood out from the rest. It rested calmly on a small hill at the end of what surely was the main…path of the village. It had an imposing chimney, continuously smoking despite the warm weather outside. Two flags were flailing in the soft breeze, bearing the same markings, probably the symbol of their settlement. It was a lion's head, two eagle's wings sprouting from behind its luxurious mane, all on a reddish background. From outside it didn't seem very imposing, though. It was as big as Marco's house, but, compared to the others, it was a giant between a horde of dwarves.

She decided to enter, without knocking. Not that it made any difference, no one was home, and even if they were, she was unseen. The interior looked rather simple, not much furniture to be seen. There was no living room, rather the entrance lead into a small hallway at the end of which she could see the dining area, given the size of the table she spotted through the narrow doorframe. On each side, there were two doors, two of them leading to what appeared to be bedrooms, one to a small kitchen, where the fireplace was emanating a healthy warmth and the last being some sort of office, where a desk filled with all sorts of papers rested comfortably in a corner surrounded by two shelves filled with ancient looking registers. She didn't even notice the small plume and the ink jar.

Suddenly she could hear something familiar. A voice she had heard many a times before, but that sounded…altered, more childish than it used to be. It was accompanied by another one, that of a girl. The innocence in their tones was delightful to hear…Heading for a window, she couldn't believe her eyes. Outside, under an enormous oak tree, that she had missed from outside the house, stood what appeared to be Scott, dressed in a loose fitting shirt, a leather vest and a pair of brown trousers, wearing boots fit for hiking on the roughest mountains. He seemed younger, even though he was as tall as ever and his face was a mirror image of what she last saw. Alas this wasn't what shocked Star. Rather, that he was hugging a petite girl who was looking back at him with glimmering brown eyes, filled with love.

His friend was a bit shorter than Star who was in turn about two inches shorter than Scott. Her hair was brown, but a fairly light shade of brown, to compliment her extremely red cheeks, turning crimson as blood was rushing in them…She wore a long white dress, and a little white marigold behind her ear and overall…there was something special about her. Just looking at her gave you the impression she was the embodiment of raw happiness. It was exhilarating the amount of expressivity she had. Star was dumbfounded to see how…warm Scott was.

Even though he grew kinder after he had reunited with his other selves, he was still distant, not leaving behind his coldness. When she hugged him, or when he hugged her, Star could feel how he was…absent, lost in thought. The gesture still had its weight, but it wasn't the same as when Marco did it, setting aside the obvious difference. But now, before her very eyes, he was…happy, as she just realized she had never seen him before. The only ounce of joy in him was covered by the overwhelming cynicism he stood for. Calm and calculated, accurate like a metronome and precise, never a man of emotion…he was melting in the arms of his lover…

Her view was obscured by an enormous white cloud, blocking the sun. Strangely enough, the cloud had the same color as the door, she entered through… All of a sudden, the shadows grew in size and contrast, becoming darker and darker, limiting Star's field of view further and further. The two lovers were fading away, followed by the house, the road, the forest she walked out of. Soon she was surrounded by the same nothingness this whole world spawned from. And again, the colors rushed back in her world, revealing that she was now standing again, in the very same hallway.

The young princess was shook by this experience, but her joyful, childlike curiosity peeked. She touched the handle on the cosmic black door, and the show repeated again. She was now in the same woods…but the village changed.

An unsettling calm reigned over the land. There were no screams, no cries, not any sort of noise indicating that anyone was living here still…Faint wails were brought by the wind from a faraway land, providing much needed tension to the already crushing atmosphere of the settlement. The houses were in ruins. Only the big house on top of the hill still stood, but it was severely damaged. The windows were broken, the walls shattered and the roof was burning. Overall, it looked like the king of the hill was no better than its loyal servants… Star followed the same steps she made in the other world. The bedrooms were ravaged. The kitchen's chimney was now spread throughout the entire hallway. The papers were desperately clinging to the wooden sticks, the only remnants of what once was a desk… The dining table was broken in two… Rushing to a window, Star saw Scott outside, bent over, eerily silent. He stood in front of four graves, the tombstones of which were chipped. Whereas he was the expression of joy, he now radiated sorrow and pain. She approached him, laying down on the ground a few feet in front of him…He was changed.

His eyes weren't the green she got accustomed to. They were gray, same as his pupils… He was wearing his usual attire, not the old-timey one… He wasn't the stone she had taken him for. Even though he was as cold as when she first met him, he wasn't emotionless. Just looking at him sent shivers down her spine…For a second she thought that a tear fell from his eyes, but that was just the rain, falling down…Star wasn't a keen observer and missed the fact that he was, in fact…crying.

As soon as the first drop hit his head, Scott rose to his feet. With a long, sinuous and heavy movement he spawned two flowers on every grave. Then conjuring a portal he vanished in thin air…Star got up and started reading the eulogies engraved on the tombstones…

"Wikus, beloved father and chieftain of our village. May the Gods have mercy on his late, brave soul."

"Jaina, proud mother and kind wife of our leader. May the Heavens' Angels welcome her as one of them."

"Scoti, son of the greatest pair of leaders to have ever reign over us. May his wandering soul find peace, wherever it had settled."

"Aurora, courageous maiden whose name shall forever be remembered. May the honor of her innocence never be forgotten. Let her love eternally shine through…"

The last words were chipped away. Star didn't know what to believe…But she had no time to spare in this world. A black mist descended on the empty hill, engulfing the princess. The colors faded and reappeared, leaving her in the middle of the same empty hallway. There were so many doors left and she didn't know where to start…The next color was red, but she could've swear what would happen…She went past the red door, then the orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet…but instead of seeing pink…she saw the same string of doors she had skipped through. Curious, she touched the handle of one, but instead of the colors fading away, they all came to life. She was assaulted by a cacophony of rainbows, confusing her, draining her powers…She fainted…

Star woke up inside a familiar place. She had seen this room before. It was the effigy of her family history from inside her wand. But, now it was different…She felt weaker than before, but still found the power to go ahead and read the plate in front of one of her ancestors…As soon as she touched the engravings, her mind was flooded by images of her family…

They were the same happenings the writing described, only that Scott was narrating them…

She woke up again in the same hallway, but it seemed that it wasn't as narrow as before. What is more, the doors behind her disappeared, the only one remaining was a gray door, in front of her. Having regained her powers, she rose to her feet and started walking towards her last apparent stop. With every step… the door seemed to gain a pink hue. It was a very bright cyclamen the second the doorknob melted and the ruse repeated…

Instead of going in a familiar place, an unknown chamber spawned near her. It had the same pattern as the library she first entered back in the castle, but the bookshelves were missing and the desk was right near a window… She could hear a door creak behind her and, turning around, she saw Scott entering the office. He passed straight through her and sat down, the same book that sucked her in spawning on the table in front of him. Conjuring a plume, he started writing. Star wanted to leave the room and explore the surroundings of this strangely out of context world, but she stopped when she heard her name.

"Star Butterfly."

Scott's lips were not moving, but his voice echoed inside the room.

"There is little to be said about her. She is crude, reckless and insane. Princess Butterfly is one of the worst in the royal line, given her extremely diverse array of foremothers. It's a miracle she hadn't been sent to St. Olga's School for Wayward Princesses. It would have been an excellent teacher for her. She had been instead exiled to my home dimension, in the custody of an apparently regular earthling, Marco Diaz. I don't see the reason why Queen Moon had chosen that, yet, but I am glad that for once she had decided to follow my advice. I will have to observe the new princess closely. She is the first one so far that has broken the pattern I had set. That's something considering that my system was right for the past forty two generations. Back on track, I don't see how this will fall into our plans. Star Butterfly is not smart, not determined, lacks discipline and has no desire to overcome her obvious flaws…"

Star had her heart broken…Hearing her friend criticize her with no restraint made her realize his true opinion on her. She also knew that what he said was continuously true… Indeed, she knew she was extremely reckless, fast to judge and never followed even the easiest instructions. She was careless, carefree and extremely bad at understanding the voracity of the world. And to top it all off, she had no will to change anything. She was bound to remain as imperfect as she knew she was and do nothing about it, for reasons unknown to her. Crushed, she walked towards the exit, hoping that the pink gizmo that would get her out of here, would magically appear. She stopped however, after hearing Scott's further thoughts…

"But, that's not what worries me. She is in fact, the closest to being the perfect princess so far. She had risen from the filth and muck of her predecessors and created a new standard. She made her own spells, she has a new wand… she had brought new additions to the family, to replace the outdated old ones. Her new way of approaching the duties of a princess are the exact breath of fresh air the forces of good needed. Despite her aforementioned flaws she is the best the Butterfly family had produced. Finally, someone can restore the balance after Queen Eclipsa destroyed it….I've got to say, though, this girl amazes me…I had lived through forty two generations of princesses and queens and never had I met someone who so closely resembles…Aurora. Star is like the reincarnation of the one I lost in order to serve the purpose I was chosen for. She is as kind, selfless and pure as she was. She is as dauntless and tenacious as her. She has the same problems as her, fearing her emotions, letting them control and consume her…"

Scott's voice stopped suddenly. Star spotted him rubbing his eyes and coughing, after which he started again.

"I am glad that my service ends with Star Butterfly, the proudest of them all, for she will be the last one of her family. She will forever be remembered as Star the Joyful and, as her ancestors before her, her name will be eternally carved in the book of life…Before I met this princess, I had many…many mishaps. I continuously begged my leaders for the sweet embrace of death. I groveled before them, asking them time and time again to revoke my immortality. It became so mundane to take care of the royal line, that I couldn't find any point to it at all. It wasn't fun to begin with, but it progressively got worse…I was close to my breaking point, having fallen in my apathy…But seeing her doing her 'thing', had brought sense back to my life. It took me a while to distance myself from the depression I had succumbed to, and it didn't help that I split myself at the order of my leaders, but in the end… I finally enjoy doing my job, for the first time in a millennium… Thank you, Star Butterfly. Thank you for making me forget the pain of…"

Star felt grabbed out of the picture, as Scott rapidly faded away in the mist she saw behind the black door. She woke up inside the library she got sucked in the book from. Scott's heavy hand was resting on her shoulder.

"Why did you do that, Star?" he asked, visibly saddened. "Why did you ignore the warning I put on the book?" he continued pointing to a label on the book, reading: "DO NOT READ, STAR!"

"You know what you did? Do you have any idea…"

His question was broke off, by her hug… She whispered:

"Thank you…"

But as soon as she touched him, he disappeared into thin air, leaving behind a note:

"No training for today…"


	10. Hopeless

It's important to note, for the sake of continuity that Scott's vanishing was nothing as Star had seen before. He hadn't spawned a portal or anything, rather he just dissolved into thin air, leaving her hugging a whole array of nothingness. A note was still floating in the air, at arm's reach from her, strangely enough. Star was a bit scared of the whole situation, but her carefree attitude served as the antidote to her fear, so she bravely grabbed the small piece of paper that was gently gliding on the breeze, inside.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine…"

Now, there was this thing as well. How did he find the time to write and spread these notes, even though he was kidnapped right before her very eyes… That thing was unsettling to her. Did he really have this kind of inhuman reaction time, or his foresight actually peaked before such events. She concluded her brief rationalization by saying that he had a shelf of notes at his disposal and whenever the opportunity arose, he would skip through his infinitely big amount of paper and pull out the appropriate one. Star was left standing alone in an empty room, trying to recover from a weird experience by going through another one.

In the meantime, Scott was not having the time of his life either. He was surrounded by a blue haze as he was flying at twice the speed of light through cosmos, looking back at the plethora of words he had left behind. He was far beyond the fabric of Mewni and Earth, as the two places intertwined to form a quantum state of matter. At the time he was and wasn't in space, and he could and couldn't be floating towards an unnamed goal. It was all purely theoretical.

Scott had cracked the code of this mysterious physics mystery, but he wasn't allowed to reveal his findings to anyone outside a select group of people… but that wasn't what mattered now. He saw the destination the strange light guided him to… It was a translucent sphere that was impossible to be seen with the naked, not-magical eye. He phased through the walls, and then, free will was returned to him.

He was left behind an enormous gateway, its imposing arch, in an unusual form… It cast a tri-dimensional shadow, somehow. On each side of the immense entrance, there was an immense warden, standing as tall as the door he was guarding. Scott looked at them for a second, seemingly baffled by their imposing appearance. They were tall, old men, their gray beards sweeping the floor beneath them. Their black hands were clenched on a sword, they held as if their life depended on it. They had no eyes, or rather they were masked by the long mane the two sprouted…However, under their messy hair, he could see their empty gaze… Unfazed by their majesty, he passed by them, saluting.

"Good day, Sirius. Good day Omega. It's nice seeing that you didn't change a bit, given our time apart."

"Your politeness cannot absolve you of your deeds, Saturn."

"Heh…It's been a long time since I had renounced that name, Sirius. It's great to see that you still use it."

He wanted to pass through, but the guards' swords crossed, blocking his path.

"Not yet. The council is still preparing. It will be three more seconds."

Coincidentally, three seconds later, Omega, the silent guard, mumbled:

"Walk, mortal." The contempt in his voice was uncanny.

He left the 'waiting room' and proceeded to walk down a pitch black hallway. He couldn't see anything in front of him, despite he knew the layout, very well. Torches on his left and on his right, absorbed the light, rather than emanate it… He knew why he hated this place. It was filled with paradoxes, funny given the leader's name. Light sources giving away darkness. Wardens, supposed to keep unwanted guests out, letting them in, this place was a dilemma and a great one. His steps, didn't make a sound, although his breathing echoed throughout the entire length of the corridor. This was already getting on his nerves.

Suddenly, light flooded the long narrow hallway, as it transformed into a large aula for that matter. Heaps of stairs, hosted the bodies of numerous beings, sharing the same phenotype, the only differences being slight color alterations. The shape of the arena resembled that of a colosseum, with the seemingly royal family, resting comfortably in a large balcony to look over the show beneath. It's interesting to note, the abundance of male characters in the picture. The only women-like silhouettes were spotted in the aforementioned loge.

A newcomer would be amazed and baffled at the size of the area he was given, but Scott was no newbie. He had actually been there before, and this event brought back painful and dark memories, despite the happy consequences that followed. He knew exactly why he had been so surreptitiously been called to the stand. He was going to be trialed and judged for his mishaps.

As soon as he set foot on the shiny platform, he was supposed to be on, the plethora of eyes focused on him, each pair burning holes through his skin, even though he couldn't see them all. The fiercest glares were given by the seven godly beings that formed some sort of council. Their eyes were not blank, rather filled with the symbol of their names. Scott knew them by heart…

"Saturn," Hyperion, the chairman took the floor.

"Spare me of this, please. I know the drill." Scott mumbled annoyed.

"SILENCE, MORTAL!" Enigma, yelled at the insolence the mere human displayed…

"Look, I've got a lot on my plate at the moment and time is of the essence, so…" Scott got interrupted.

"You know, we exist outside of such puny concepts…" Paradox calmly explained.

"But this, doesn't pardon his daring." Oxymoron said, emotionless.

"Ahh, I can't help but laugh at the fact that apart from Hyperion, you chose to have basic grammar concepts named after you, despite your apparent omnipotence."

"We know our limitations, but we must address the situation at hand," the chairman said,

"Saturn, you are here because of your lack of care for our rules. You will be judged as a member of the organization we had created eons ago. You have the right to defend yourself by any means, apart from violence, which we strictly forbid. You are accused of breaking our code for a total of three times in one single life of yours. How do you plead?"

"Seriously…I plead not guilty, and predict that your arguments will be complete hooey. Proceed with the court proceedings."

"First offense, directly interfering with the path we had agreed upon for the Butterfly family," Hyperion started the prosecution's opening.

"And what is that path, again?" Scott asked, trying to build his defense on the vagueness of the rule. His plan was foiled instantly.

"You were there as nothing but a silent guardian, a teacher in times of need only, a protector should the opportunity arise and never were you allowed to tamper with their lives apart from the aforementioned conditions. You had broken this code ever since you had been appointed, for lack of a better word, but we had let it slide because your unwanted contribution was not hindering the general course of action. The balance was still maintained in that entire universe, good reigning supreme over the forever growing evil. But now, due to you hampering with the situation, evil had grown more powerful than ever and the forces of good are not even close to them. The scale is completely broken and in your desperate attempt to restore it to its original self, you had done nothing but fail to follow the code even further accentuating your wrongdoing. Your defense?"

Scott didn't really know how to handle the situation. He had been called before this court for many a times before, but it was only for a mere briefing. Now, when a lot more hinged on the outcome of this trial, he had to calculate each and every step of his journey… For the first time, he had uncertainties, not being quite sure what he could do to absolve himself of his mishaps. Perhaps, that's the way it had to be. Consequences are to be experienced after all, even by the most omnipotent of beings. He knowingly glossed over his rules and guidelines and this had gotten to him after all. He had only one point to make, but in the cold world he got his powers from wouldn't care much for it…He still had to try:

"My defense…Come to think of it, I don't have any, but the fact that I am only human."

"You are far beyond that, Saturn!" Enigma shouted irascibly.

"Yeah, sure. I must make mistakes, believing they are right, but now… you are beings of immense power, right? Looking back on what I did, do you find it all that destructive? Didn't I actually help by interfering, even though it was breaking the code? For example, take a look at the Eclipsa situation. She had grown evil over the years of her reign, but I didn't stop it…I let it run its course and look what's going on now. I have to oversee the evil that Toffee will spread and not try to fix it? Even though, as you said it greatly outweighs the power of the forces of good? May I remind you, that your directive of me not stepping in, has led to this impervious disequilibrium?"

"You are not to question our beliefs, you are only to follow and obey them, is that clear? Albeit necessary to intervene, you weren't asked to, therefore you had failed to follow orders. Your point is void and mute." Paradox said in his usual tone, Scott himself had adopted for a couple of his split personalities.

"True," Hyperion followed Paradox's words, letting his heavy head fall in his hands, thinking. He had a certain liking for the boy ever since their first fateful encounter, yet he was a being drawn from a few lines. Failure to compel was not supported. "You are on trial for three offences. Since we had discovered that democracy and majority are defining principles of the universe, we had come to the decision that should you manage to convince us to drop two of the charges you are faced with…You go out, scot-free" Even higher beings are prone to exaggerated puns…

"Thank you, for your kindness, Council." Scott said to them.

"Your next offense is…trading in the gifts we had bestowed upon you, in order to deny the laws we had established for the universe you reside in," Hyperion recited his speech. "Paradox will now enlist the powers we had given to you, and the damage you had caused by trading them in."

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, before continuing with his undisturbed tone. "We gave you the ability to control space at your own will, the raw energy, not found in humans, that allows you to make use of the magic around you, immortality, which was necessary in order for you to fulfill your given purpose and lastly, an innate ability that we had amplified, specific to humans: foresight. Now, you had renounced your eternity in order to imbue superior beings of your dimension with life force that had been drained from them."

"Is there something wrong in reviving fallen forces of good when those of evil greatly outnumber them?"

"Yes, it is when you change the destiny of said people. Those were meant to die there, but you had, yet again rewritten their fate," Oxymoron sealed the argument.

"No, it actually is not. You had given me the prime mission to keep the balance of good and evil, regardless of the consequences right?"

"That is correct," Hyperion smiled to himself, understanding where the kid was going with his arguments.

"Therefore, should an immense entropy emerge, isn't it fit for me to act in order to restore the equilibrium?"

"Indeed," Paradox acknowledged the truth in his words.

"Good. I didn't resurrect some random higher beings, I resurrected the most powerful that universe had to offer. Since, Toffee had grown stronger than anyone in that world, even myself, I had to act. I believe that as long as I have to choose between following two rules, I need to respect my prime directive over all."

"And how have you come to your conclusion, oh, you pinnacle of intelligence?" Enigma asked angered, but knowing that her question had no ground.

"That doesn't matter, Enigma." Hyperion intervened. "Saturn had proven to us that his action was justified, despite it broke the code we established. I can't help but compliment the maturity of his decision. But enough about that. The final offense is the biggest of them all. If you may, Oxymoron?"

"Of course. Even though, you had directly interfered with the fates of generations of people and had failed to follow directives, while renouncing the powers we had given to you, you had made a mistake that overwrites everything… You had kept a memorandum of your actions. You had revealed a part of history that was meant to be a secret for as long as the world lived. And furthermore, you had left said memorandum unguarded and the current Butterfly had read it, gaining forbidden knowledge. We remind you that even if your work has had extremely important and visible consequences…the depth and cause of it had always remained classified."

"That is not true!" Scott screamed somewhat offended.

"INSOLENCE!" Enigma responded to his yells.

"Order!" Hyperion tempered the two. "What makes you say that?"

"Glossaryck isn't a member of this council?"

"Indeed he is," Paradox answered.

"His actions are plastered across the book of spells that, mind you, is an actual gift from you. How can you preach secrecy and confidentiality, when your effects on the world are actually the most obvious. You had revealed the Council through Glossaryck among its other actions, but now you blame me for revealing your world to them? Why does this sound like the plot a seamless writer would come up with?"

"The difference is that you weren't allowed to do so, Saturn." Hyperion calmly answered to the uncomfortable shouts of the child before him.

"Still, let's debate the rule for a bit, shall we? You said that even though our consequences are visible and important, they must remain unseen, although you gladly let Glossaryck reveal them to the royal family. This would imply that there is a problem in the lifelines of the Butterfly family that should keep them from knowing the truth. Since there are only two Butterflies alive at the moment, we can let the other generations rest in peace and not invoke them in our argument. At the same time we can rule out Moon Butterfly, because her training is complete. The effect of Glossaryck and me on her Majesty has ran its course. Therefore the only one you have an issue with is Star Butterfly, correct?"

"Indeed," Paradox answered, his eyes fixed on Hyperion who was visibly enjoying the show Scott put out.

"May I ask, what is that problem?"

"You said it yourself…Her training is not complete, therefore the effects of knowing the truth would greatly affect her. What you had done is, thus, immensely dangerous and is a punishable offense."

Scott was defeated at this point. He realized that the Council had a point. Paradox and Oxymoron were both against him at this point, completed by Enigma whose never-ending hate for him, albeit founded, made her continuously vote for his fall. He still had an ace up his sleeve, but it was a wild card as well. He couldn't predict what would happen after he would reveal it, but at this point it was his only shot.

"What if, it had no effect on Star Butterfly? What if you're only theorizing an impossibility?"

"Where are you going with this, mortal?" Enigma asked, almost hissing.

"Let me call Star Butterfly to the stand as my witness. Should she not be affected in any way whatsoever, would you drop the third and final charge?"

The council gathered for a split second, then gave a verdict. Although, Scott was used to this, he was still amazed at the mental capacity of his leaders.

"We agree to your conditions. Summon Star Butterfly at once," Hyperion ordered. Scott started the process that took a lot more now, because of the context the spell had to be performed. He didn't notice Enigma's wicked smile…

A luxurious chair fell from the ceiling between the council's loge and Scott's stand. The silhouette of Star Butterfly swiftly appeared afterwards, colors starting to fill her contour. It took a while for the princess to completely 'be' in the room. She was sound asleep…Scott walked up to her and shook her awake.

"WHAT!? Who? Waaa…Where am I?"

"Long story short, you are at my trial, and you have been called to the stand. I can't say anymore, because I would be accused of misleading evidence. Sorry." That's all Scott said before distancing himself from Star, taking his place on his stand.

"Star Butterfly!" Hyperion yelled imposing. "You are to say the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

"Do you really need to overuse this cliché, even though you will use the Cube?"

"Procedures are procedures, Saturn. You have yet to learn this?" Oxymoron answered mockingly.

"Uoookay, I guess. Test me. Fire away," Star said in her usual playful tone. It seemed a bit unsettling to the Council. They must've been used to the usual type of princesses, born and forged by St. Olga's

"Then, let's begin!" Paradox said, trying to rush the outcome of the trial. "Saturn, your witness."

"Great…Here goes nothing." The Cube appeared above Star, but it was unseen to her, a decision Scott did not understand. "I have to urge you to answer all my questions with 'yes' or 'no' and nothing else. Is that clear?"

"Yes." The cube flashed green.

"Is it true, you had read a book, whose cover had the word 'history' on it?"

"Yes."

"Is this, the book in question?" Scott said, creating an image of his memorandum.

"Yes."

"Is it true, you had seen and ignored the warning note on the book?"

"Yes." The cube flashed red.

"Is it true you had seen the note?" Scott accentuated every word, looking at Star as if he was trying to tell her: "It's ok, just be honest."

"No."

"Is it true, you had recited the words etched on the corner of the pages, without knowing their meaning?"

"Yes."

"Will you ask a question, that directly interests this trial already?" Enigma said bored and eager to end the process.

"All in due time," Scott answered annoyed. "Is it true that what you had seen after reciting those words, you had seen events that you had never had any knowledge of before."

Star hesitated to answer…This didn't behoove him at all, as he felt the Council's piercing glares locking him down.

"Yes." The cube flashed green.

"Did ALL of these events involve your family's history?"

"No."

"Did any of the events involving your family affect you in any way? Before you answer, let me tell you what to be affected means in this context. You will answer with 'yes' only if your view over said events had completely changed, or if the events were all unknown to you prior to your experience."

Scott had put all his hopes in Star's answer. Should she lie, his fate was sealed. Should she tell the truth and the answer would be yes, he was done for… his entire life was now hinging on this answer. And it didn't end as it should've.

"Y-Yes," She stuttered. The cube flashed green.

"We have heard enough, Saturn." Hyperion rose from his seat, looking saddened, yet his blank eyes were merciless. " You have failed in proving that Star Butterfly is completely unfazed by the events you had exposed her to with your carelessness. Following our democratic rule, you have been found guilty of disorderly conduct. Your punishment is going to be something Earth has used for ages: imprisonment. You will spend the rest of your life in a timeless void, doomed to float directionless into the nothingness of space." Hyperion paused for a second, looking down to the helpless child. "The court is adjourned…"

Two of the spectators scattered around descended in the arena and grabbed hold of the convict. With a heavy hand movement, Paradox conjured a portal. Its margins were clearly visible, but what was behind it was not. But Scott knew what it was. They were about to send him inside a black hole. Even though the forces inside would kill him…The time dilation would made them fulfill their promise. He will indeed spend his entire life inside his prison, and it wouldn't kill him before his time was up… It was the perfect setup, and it's needless to say who came up with this punishment. The two unnamed beings were slowly pushing him towards his inevitable doom. Ten feet separated him from his death. Then five…then two…He could feel the tremendous forces of the cosmic phenomenon…

"HOOOOOOLD IT!" Star yelled her lungs out, causing all the audience to stop and stare her down.

"INSOLENT BRAT!" Enigma responded to her reaction.

"Enigma! That is the next Queen, heir to the Butterfly throne! They are our protégées and we must show them respect!" Hyperion scolded his fellow council member. "What is it, Star Butterfly?"

"If you are punishing him because I had been affected by the events I saw…Will you tell me again why are you doing this?"

"Because we are not allowed to directly interfere with the course of things. Your friend here, did that and revealed what he did to you and, since you truthfully said that it affected you, he had changed your lifeline. You were not supposed to know how your ancestors helped…" Hyperion answered calmly.

"But…It's not my ancestor's views that affected me…"The cube flashed green. Seeing that Hyperion commanded the guards to stop.

"But what was it that marked you, Star Butterfly?" Hyperion said, descending from his balcony and now stood in front of the princess.

"Well…I had never seen Scott so…full of emotions. When I saw how happy he was with that girl, I couldn't help but get a feeling of joy from that. Then, when that happiness was gone and I saw the sadness in his eyes, again I couldn't help but cry as well. What marked me so deeply was that I finally got some insight on a person I knew nothing off. I saw how empathetic a stone cold man can be... That is something, you know? Plus, in return I was gifted with words I never thought I would hear, coming from him. These things matter to us people…Even though you seem like stone cold…things, I guess? You surely can understand values such as these. Can't you find it in your frozen hearts to spare him of this sentence…?"

Hyperion smiled. The emotionless beings weren't so emotionless after all. He nodded and his servants released Scott.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Enigma yelled, as if it were the only form she could communicate through. She jumped down from the balcony as well, landing with a thud near Hyperion. "Let's recall for a bit, what Saturn said, shall we?" she said conjuring a sphere whose purpose was to recall previous events, a time sphere, if you may. It showed Scott uttering words that Enigma's plans counted on…"Let me call Star Butterfly to the stand as my witness. Should she not be affected in any way whatsoever, would you drop the third and final charge?"

"What is the point of this, Enigma?" Hyperion asked a bit worried.

"We can clearly conclude that Star Butterfly, as she herself has stated, was indeed greatly AFFECTED," she yelled the last word. "Therefore, we are not supposed to drop the third and final charge, is that right?"

Hyperion and Scott shared the same baffled look, however following that Scott looked dismayed, while Hyperion was completely defeated.

"It…It is correct," Hyperion said while turning to Scott. "I am sorry, Saturn, but it's the way things are…" He grabbed him from where he was sitting and…mercilessly threw him into the portal that closed behind him. Star's cries were now in vain…

"I hope your hatred is sated, Enigma…" Hyperion glared at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered, an evil smirk crossing her face.

In an instant Star was returned to the place she was summoned from, the memories of the event still resonating in her mind…Scott was forever gone. She still had his note in her hand…only that something was changed. The note now had a different handwriting and it read:

"Do not worry, Star Butterfly…"

And with this useless hope, she fell to the ground, nesting her head behind her knees, wetting her dress with rivers of tears…With Scott gone and Marco gone….how could she not worry?


	11. Farewell

Now let's go back to Earth for a brief respiro, since we had focused a bit too much on cosmic interdimensional business. What was Marco up to in the past days? Well, for one, we should understand the temporal context of our different worlds.

While Earth and Mewni share the same time-zone, for lack of a better word, the Council's world does not. In fact, it exists beyond that whole universe's time. Therefore how do we "translate" the time passed at the trial for the time passed back on Mewni or Earth…We…can't. It's as if we go to a country we don't know the language of and start blurting out random noises, hoping we can make ourselves understood. Therefore, a random amount of time could pass between Star's depart and her arrival, back on Mewni. It was about a week…

Now, back on track…Summer began. No school for the following three months and nothing but beautiful weather and never ending fun. However, not quite for Marco. For the past days he had been torn between what he should do…Star said she was going to be gone forever, but Scott told him he should start training with his scissors. At first, he didn't give any thought to it. And at first means for the 8 hours he spent asleep. He missed waking up to her usual bathroom antics…the house seemed a lot emptier without her tower, without her as a whole. No more laser puppies scattered around the few rooms of his home, no more random rainbows almost blinding him when he wakes up…No more tedious, yet interesting explanations of how Earth works, no more concepts to clarify…No more awkward moments between the two of them, no more random hugs, nothing of that matter…No more…Star. And that was terrible. The first day it was pretty hard. Usually when one friend moves away, or leaves for an undetermined period of time, they sent you an advance notice, so-to-speak, whereas Star, his best friend, for that matter, just…left. It was all so brisk and sudden, it kind of left a hole in his life. It was as if his parents would've woken up in the middle of the night and tell him they would have to leave forever…

Thankfully, he had a shoulder to cry on and that was Jackie…However there was something that didn't quite fit in there. Even though she listened to his complaints, she seemed absent for most of it. She always advised him to let it go, slowly, and calm down, because he was worrying way too much, and she was right. But it wasn't what he needed to hear for the time being. It's true, you can't get what you wish for with this kind of situation, in terms of support, so…His mind was in a raging war. He couldn't decide whether he could be mad at her or if she was right. His whole world got turned upside down, which…pretty much reversed the consequences of her arrival, in the first place. He was used to his monotone, bland life, in which he was a straight A student, scared of anything new, then along she came, turning him into one resilient man…and now where was he? Endless uncertainty…He was plagued by his own mind, leaving him defenseless against the army of emotions he had to withstand. How can anyone, let alone a crude fourteen year old bear so many changes in such a short span of time? Well, you can't.

Let's get back to the time loops for a second. If a random amount of time is assigned for each event from different "time-zones", this would mean that while the trial was ongoing, time was simply flowing faster on Earth compared to that of the Council's dimension…It was at the point when Star was summoned to the stand and Scott saw Enigma's sickening grin that he thought he should have a fail-safe ready, a back-up should things take a turn for the worse. Not even surrounded by entirely magic beings, Scott didn't lose his wit and, unbeknownst of the Council, he sent a note to Marco, describing the dire situation he was in…It was one of the most detailed notes, he had ever written.

"Dear Marco, I am writing this to you after such a terrible and sudden separation for I am at the moment in peril of perishing. Forgive my incredibly condescending vocabulary, as I tend to devolve into this completely elevated jargon in times of great stress.

Star is going to be left completely alone in an undisclosed location, that unfortunately doesn't appear on any charts or maps and its coordinates are unknown to anyone, but myself and unfortunately I am bound to not divulge them…I strongly urge you to use your dimensional scissors and go to Hekapoo, who will be more than thrilled to help you understand the difficult art of dimensional hopping.

Ignore my impervious and utterly abysmal fate, and heed my advice at once. It is of utmost importance that you do as I said, and, should you fail to do so…I cannot guarantee the well-being of our beloved princess…I bid you a possible farewell, Marco Diaz. And good luck."

That was exactly what he needed. The carrot on a stick hanging in front of him that would guide him to his purpose…However, there was an enormous problem to this. What would he tell Jackie? It would seem a bit strange to go after a friend of yours and put so much effort into it, wouldn't it…?

"No, dude, it's fine. Go for it!" Jackie encouraged him to follow Scott's advice.

"You serious? You're actually ok with this?" Marco asked, eyes wide open.

"Of course! I mean it's amazing the connection you two have and seeing the effort you put in restoring your friendship, is like…amazing." Jackie was not a person to add subtext to her words, she just spoke her mind out. She meant every single phrase coming out of her mouth, and that stupefied Marco, as he heard what she was saying.

"You're the best girlfriend ever!" he said, hugging her tight, afterwards running to his home to get his dimensional scissors.

"Oh…Marco," Jackie sighed happily, when her boyfriend was too far to hear her. She then grabbed her skateboard and zoomed off.

Back at the Diaz household, Marco was frantically looking for the important item. However, he didn't seem quite capable of finding it, given the fact that, despite his impeccable system, there was an enormous gap where the scissors should be, as if they were…stolen. He checked under his bed, even, putting aside his hatred towards disorder…That was something.

But, be that as it may, there weren't any dimensional scissors anywhere, so logically, the conclusion was to ask his parents…Needless to say that they didn't know anything about it, since they are not really the most present people…Still, he had to think this through. He had to backtrack his steps, retracing all his steps from the moment he left Hekapoo's world. He remembered relying on Star's pair of scissors for the rest of their time together, never actually using his except for one time, when he was drunk with their power and opened up a bunch of portals, like he did before Hekapoo noticed… Bottom line, his scissors should've been resting comfortably in their drawer, where he had put them in the first place. Someone had tampered with them…

However, Marco found something strange about this situation…Scott didn't usually make mistakes, therefore if he told him to search for something, this must mean that he knew that he still had them somewhere thrown away for safekeeping…He never really understood why he preferred to leave those notes. It seemed extremely gratuitous, but he had to admit they got his point across. Wait…the note. He recalled the time when, while being in class, Scott communicated with him through his notebook. Maybe, should he write back to him, his friend would point him on the right track.

"Problem. I can't find them anywhere…"

Now it was all about waiting. He stood on his bed, counting seconds as the piece of paper before his eyes didn't have any new lines added to it. The note stood as empty as he left it, and it was bound to stay like that for some time, since Scott was now questioning Star, even though several hours had passed between him sending the note and Marco's answer. Time-zones are amazing aren't they? Especially when what they do is just add fuel to a raging fire of desire to be reunited with a lost friend...

His mind started going haywire. He couldn't help going through the entire scene of his separation from Star. He wondered whether he was to blame in any way. Even though, Star herself didn't give any details…Scott blurted out a name, a familiar one for that matter. Was Toffee behind all this? He said, that the demon was more powerful than ever, but he couldn't really see why she had to leave…Ludo was also more powerful than they ever saw him be, yet Star didn't need to go back to Mewni, so what gives? A bad thought crossed his mind for a second…What if it was Scott who did that? He was alone with her for a long time…maybe she was severely influenced. But he immediately removed this from his head as the trust in his friends returned to him…However, that wicked little neuronal connection was put on the back burner.

His mind was now processing Scott's first note…What was it with people and their limitless vagueness? He didn't say what problems he was having, but rather he had begged him to follow some baseless advice. The more he thought of it, the more it seemed to Marco that Scott was trying to hide something...Plus, he said that where the two of them were hiding was in a fully undisclosed location, that he, himself, couldn't divulge in order to help him…Why would he do that? Wouldn't it be in his best interest to give all the possible details? There was an unsettling shady business going on and…somehow it felt that the dimensional scissors would be the first piece of the puzzle, needed to uncover this mystery.

It was getting late and Marco was just now getting in bed…It was at this time that Scott had already been thrown into the abyss, but the wonders of time-zones conferred him a Deus Ex-Machina…It was the universe's way of showing its grief and to apologize for its mistakes…the delay between Scott's exile and his death made this possible…

Marco was dreaming, being carried away in the obscure world, Freud had discovered a long time ago. However, it wasn't the filled with symbols as dreams used to be, it was rather…obvious. It probably had something to do with Scott being present…

"Marco, listen…I don't have much time to explain…"

"What? Why?"

"Because by the time you receive this message and your subconscious processes it, I may be dead."

"WHAT!?HOW!?" Marco yelled inside his dream.

"No time to explain, Marco. Please…Your scissors were stolen by StarFan13, when she found out that Star left. It served as a memento of her time on Earth. You will be able to open Hekapoo's portal after you repeat what you did when you first got to her. Tell her that you need help and that I sent you…She should be able to put two and two together. I still cannot tell you where to find Star, for reasons, I again am unable to disclose, but…I can tell you that you should look for…"

And just like that…with an annoyingly and mindboggling timing…Scott faded away. Marco woke up. He could cry, realizing what happened, but instead he went back to sleep, trying to hold his composure…Why would Star and Scott need a whiny crybaby at the moment?

First thing, next morning, Marco was beating at StarFan13's door in order to acquire his much needed item. He didn't wait to get back home, he just opened random portals all over the place, in order to make Hekapoo's appear. When he saw the orange glow of the Committee's lady's home world, he didn't hesitate to step in.

"What are you doing here, boy? You need anything?"

"Training. As fast as you can."

"Why should I do that? You gotta figure things out yourself…"

"Scott is dead, and he said that I am the only one who can protect the princess."

Hekapoo's eyes widened and her flame grew bigger. Shook, she answered with a tremor in her voice…

"V-very well." And just like that she disappeared into thin air, spawning three portals in her place. "Find me, and your training begins. Just like the old times."

Marco stepped into the middle one and he was gone…

Meanwhile, Star was back home crying her eyes out…She couldn't believe that Scott died and now her loneliness and grief only grew bigger and bigger as time passed by. For hours, her thoughts were plagued by this unsettling feeling of despair and sorrow…And for good reason…Now that there was truly no one left for her apart from her mother, God knows where in relation to where she was now. She was alone, isolated, scared and what-not…After such a long time spent sulking on Scott's bed, she decided it was enough. She rose to her feet, still deeply hurt and destroyed and headed towards Scott's book.

She looked at the inanimate object with an empty glare…That was the cause of her losing her last bit of hope. That was why she had lost a dear friend, one who had cared for her and her family for ages…Raising her wand, she stuttered a spell, whose effect sent the 'history' flying across the room, burning its pages and tearing its worn out cover apart. With another, more powerful blast she completely obliterated the cause of her grief. Then, she dropped her wand and she fell to her feet with it, being flooded by another river of emotions…

It wasn't the book's fault. It was hers, and she knew it well. It was only because of her childish curiosity and her carelessness that Scott died. If she hadn't opened its pages and recited those faithful words, maybe she would still have had her friend sitting next to her…Even if she saw the warning, Star knew that Scott's advice would've gone unheeded as always, given her affinity towards rules…

She rose back to her feet and, with shaky steps, made her way towards the small table. Star turned on the little lamp and used it in order to find a book to read…she was looking for a spell book. Surely there was one in his enormous library, right? However, most of the titles were written in a language she couldn't understand…The handwriting resembled that of Mewnians, but it was indecipherable… After a bit of thorough research, she had found a little book, with an intelligible title: "Advanced and Dangerous Bits of Ancient Magic"

She opened the book, only to find an enormous piece of paper, filled with Scott's handwriting…She knew that Scott was an extremely intelligent boy and that he had precautions on top of precautions to swing at, but this was…excessive…

"This is for you, Star. You are probably reading this, because something bad had happened to me. Either I was kidnapped by evil forces, taken back by my creators and leaders, or…worse. Anyway, should any of this be the case, I have devised this plan as a failsafe or a backup. This is an extremely comprehensive book, comprising a multitude of powerful spells. Do not mind the danger part…It wasn't quite meant for you, but still, it would be nice if you would take care of that. We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now, right? This is one of the multiple books, you will have to study, in order to defeat Toffee. Other important titles are, well, on the same shelf. I had also alphabetized them, for easy use. Now, don't be discouraged, if you can't study them all, or learn everything. It's important to get as much knowledge as you can over the time we have left…Toffee will attack at the end of Earth's summer, or in precisely 57 days, from when we've moved in this castle. Until then, you should focus on nothing but your training…If I am not going to be there to help, it might seem difficult and unbearable, but I trust that you will not get discouraged…

Look, Star, I know that the situation seems dire. Your love was a complete fail, your duties are bigger than ever, a great evil had appeared, with a target on your head and now, you've lost your last friend…And I am sorry for that. But…and I am going to be grasping at straws here…I believe in you. You had gotten back from losing your wand, albeit you had gotten it back instantly, you had recovered from losing your spell-book and your mentor and you had put up pretty well with losing your crush and friend. You had built more character in a couple of weeks, than I had in two millennia. I admire you for that. You must pull through this thing too, Star…And after that, I promise there will be nothing else like that…And, I always keep my promises…

Good luck, Star Butterfly…And take care of yourself…"

Star smiled after she had finished reading…with a sad, yet slightly relieved sigh, she said out loud:

"I pulled through these things…But I can't forget…losing you." A tear fell from her left eye. She wiped it off and, still smiling bitterly, she started flipping through the pages of the book…

"I want to know why you came here, boy, "Toffee asked the translucent ghost that appeared in front of him.

"Would you now? Well, I thought that you'd be glad to see me before I die. I projected my consciousness in this temporary form for you to gloat."

"Like you had ever died, Saturn…Those nosey beings you call leaders wouldn't allow it."

"To be that stubborn, Toffee. Don't you ever get tired of your arrogance?"

"Hear me out, Saturn…I had always appreciated your neutral nature. You were made from the same mold as the old man, yet you…fell."

"Your compliment is there, but it's empty. I fell, because of my nature…I'm only human after all. Don't put the blame on me, put it on whoever made me this way…Why don't you review that for once, Toffee? You had died countless times just because you had glossed over this tiny detail. You're impressive and yet so…foolish."

"Reviews? Why would I care for that? I had to die in order to be reborn…It's just my destiny. I do not play into evil's hands because I want to, but because I have to. I can't change what it's written for me, so I just roll with it. It's easier to swim in the current, than against it. Foolish, you say? Saturn, you are the fool here, for you had thought you could change your fate…You tried so hard to do so and look where it brought you. Was it worth it?" Toffee saw the ghost before him fading away, so he answered his question himself. "No, it was not…And it all started when you decided to refuse my offer, which, by your own rules, you had to accept. I feel nothing but pity for you, mortal. Farewell."

And with that last goodbye, Scott faded away…the last bit of his existence was now gone…forever.

(Hidden message inbound! Try reading the first words of the last dialogue. And try not to destroy me. Please)


	12. Goodbye

"When do I actually start my training?" Marco said exasperated, while carrying an enormous weight on his back.

"When you're done redecorating my castle, of course," Hekapoo said as she was sitting down on a fire red sofa, smiling. Watching him moving around her furniture was truly entertaining for her…

"Come on, lady, I've done nothing but chores for the past week and you were supposed to be teaching me how to use those dimensional scissors…"

"All in due time," Hekapoo also liked to copy some people's catchphrases and blurt them out, mockingly. This is why her voice was trying to be resembling Marco's late friend.

"You're now repeating the same thing Scott said all the time…Great. Should I lose hope?"

"Maybe, I don't know."

"Where is the attitude you had the first time I came to you, when you were actually trying to help?"

"I am not the kind of person to stick to one mood forever. I kinda like my own groove."

"I see. And this groove gonna be helpful anytime soon?"

"Perhaps. If I like where the atmosphere of this room is going, maybe. Now move the couch, there," she said getting up, slicing up a portal then appearing across the room, pointing to a spot nearby.

"Ugh…fine," Marco mumbled annoyed. He walked towards the couch, and started pushing it towards the other end of the chamber, but Hekapoo stopped him.

"You said, you want training, this is training," she said, smirking at him. "Use your dimensional scissors to move it dummy…Don't you think you've had enough manual labor for today?"

"Ok, fine…how do I do this?"

"Well, since you found me, I assume you know how to simply…cut a hole with a pair of regular scissors. I bet you don't know where the portals go to, right?"

"Well, yeah…that's kinda why I came to you, the ultimate master?"

"Ah, no, I am just skilled. I must remark that your friend had bested me at that," she answered with a smile on her pale face. "Still, I can still teach you a thing or two about portals. For example, you, obviously need to think of the location you wanna go to, in order to open a portal to it…"

"Really? Is it that simple?"

"Well, yeah, what did you expect it to be? It's literally a one-sided job, whaddya want from me?"

"Well, ok…Here goes nothing…" he sliced a portal open in front of the couch, and…miraculously another one appeared on the other end of the room. He pushed the large red sofa through it, therefore completing his task…

"Okay, congratulations," Hekapoo applauded sarcastically. "Now, this should be more than what you need. Thanks for the free home makeover, goodbye," she said opening a portal, but before stepping inside it, she was stopped by Marco grabbing her.

"Wait, that's it?" Marco asked surprised and infuriated at the same time…"I lost a week of my time just to learn that if I think of a location I can use the scissors?"

"God…you know how to ruin everything…I was gonna go through the portal, you were gonna follow me, then I would attack you and some real training would've began, but now…we gotta do it in this boring place. Thanks, Marco…"

"Wait, what?"

"Dude, it's clear that your annoyingly intelligent friend didn't send you to me so I can teach you something he could've just told you in the first place. I know how to use portals to my advantage in combat, and I think that's what he wanted me to teach you, so yeah. Prepare yourself…"

"Oh, finally, something I can finally be great at."

"How come?"

"Well, I got a red belt in the art of ka-ra-te," he said, accentuating every syllable. Then, he took his battle stance, and started practicing a kata. Hekapoo was uninterested, and quickly tore a portal to Marco's feet and punched him. He fell down, and his new sensei was now glaring condescendingly at him, with a wicked smirk strewn across her face.

"Well, Mr. Red Belt, looks like, I, a mere immortal being, have managed to best you," she said offering him a hand.

"Yeah…it sure does."

"Good, I am glad you understood this. Now, since I guess that I had taken enough of your time. You should be going. I'll meet you tomorrow, in your dimension's time, I guess."

"Well, then," Marco said, opening a portal, but then stopping as a question crossed his mind. "Hold on…Wouldn't tomorrow be like a century for you, since when I was gone for 10 minutes on Earth, 16 years passed in here?"

"Well, not quite. I can manipulate the time, here as I wish," she answered laughing. Then she smacked the back of his head, pushing him in the portal he had created. Marco was now sitting in the middle of his room, where he intended to go. He left around noon, but now, despite the aforementioned time paradox, he returned at dusk.

He checked his phone, he left on his nightstand. There were a couple of missed calls from Jackie, and then a text message, saying: "Call me, when you can" and a smiley. She didn't have to ask twice, because Marco immediately conformed. She didn't want anything else, but to hang out, however…her tone didn't seem her usual chill tone, it bore a bit of sadness in it. They decided to meet up in the park…on the same bench they spent their ball at. Marco was waiting for Jackie to show up, counting the clouds floundering aimlessly towards the setting sun. The star was throwing its last red rays towards the world, signaling the end of the day. Its light imbued the green hill, Marco was sitting atop of, turning it from an effigy of the seemingly never-ending into an autumnal reminder… The poetic contemplation of the nature around him, was interrupted by the familiar sound of a skateboard rolling on the uneven pavement. With a kick flip, she got off the board and jumped on the bench, uttering her soon-to-be catchphrase:

"Hey, Marco."

"He-hey, Jackie," Marco said nervously, still having sequelae from the time he was too shy to even talk to her. "Why did you want us to meet up?"

"Well, because for the past week, you didn't return any of my calls, and answered my texts with "k"," she said pulling out her phone, showing him their chat history.

"Yeah, I guess I was kind of shady…But, I've got the explanation, now…I was busy training, so I can learn how to use these," Marco replied, grabbing the dimensional scissors from his hoodie pocket, funnily stumbling with them.

"Are those…scissors?"

"Not any kind of scissors, these are special. They're like those Star had, you know, the dimensional hopping things?"

"Ooooh! And you've gotten better at it or anything?" Jackie asked curiously examining the mysterious object.

"Definitely!" Marco boasted, but something seemed a bit off. Jackie seemed to have a point to make with this date, however she seemed to somehow avoid it, despite her usual straightforward attitude.

"Then, let's go visit some crazy world, come on," she said grabbing the scissors from his hand and wildly slicing the air. She opened a portal, from which a strange monster tendril exited…Marco, kicked it back from where it came from and closed the portal.

"How about you let me handle this, ok?" Marco asked, nervously laughing, while grabbing the pair of scissors from his girlfriend's hand. He then opened a portal, to what he thought was a romantic scenery. And it…actually was. The portal took them in the middle of an empty alley, guarded on each side by strings of lampposts. A crimson moon was shining over their heads, and near it, a smaller blue one followed suit. Crickets were complimenting the atmosphere with their lonely song, amplifying their isolation from the rest of the world…Frankly, they were…it wasn't called Solum for no reason, after all. The road was leading towards a solitary hill, whose crown was made of a small troop of locust trees, whose white blossoms could be smelled from miles away. It seemed like a scenery taken out of Shelley's poetry, albeit without the purity of the celestial beings…

"Woah, this is beautiful!" Jackie exclaimed, taking in the surroundings.

"Well, that was my point, he he," he laughed, knowing that he just thought of someplace where it was nighttime already, because if English class thought him anything about romanticism is that if there was a moon up in the sky, it was clearly going to be harboring some love. After all this place had a lot of motives that placed it into a rather 18th century dream scenery.

"Should we go, up there?" Jackie asked, curiosity glimmering in her eyes.

"Whatever you want," Marco answered simply.

They started walking down the dimly lit alleyway, breathing in the lugubrious atmosphere. The blood red moon in the sky, and its maroon glow, didn't relieve the unsettling tone of this date. It wasn't as their previous times getting together…There was an awkward silence overall, broken by interjections and long sighs, from the part of both. The apparent romantic night, turned into a series of unfortunate moments of painful attempts to try and start a conversation…And it all started out of nowhere. Suddenly they were both feeling like two strangers walking in the same rhythm to different locations, even though they were supposed to be in a relationship for almost two months now. Marco looked at Jackie from time to time…She didn't have that usual 'chill' look on her face, but rather she was looking up to the moon, apparently hypnotized by it. After a couple of seconds of blankly staring at the beautiful crimson queen of the night, she would always look at Marco, smile confused and then show a micro-emotion…sadness and grief missed with pity. That was bizarre…Marco had known Jackie ever since they were little kids and she had been nothing but this seemingly linear character…Her defining trait being, well… 'chill', it was rather peculiar to see her in this light. These events seemed ominous, to say the least, the only thing missing was a thunder and lightning, or the rain to fall down on sovereignless and broken apart souls…However, there was something redeeming to the whole situation. She was holding on his arm with both hands. Clenching it with a tight grip, as if she was falling from an airplane and he was her last girder to keep her from her inevitable doom. Looking from an outsider's perspective you'd get the opposite message this innocent gesture was trying to get across…

Marco felt like she was clinging down to him, as if she were afraid to lose him to something. That was strange since he hadn't been around for so long…As he heard himself, he realized what he had done…For the past week, he didn't even pay attention to her, and he loved her…He was so keen on finding a way to be reunited with Star, he forgot that she even existed…But there was another question rising from this last mental statement. If he could gloss over the fact that she was drawing breath…what did he actually feel? Did he love Jackie, or it was just the infatuation resulted from years of his one-sided crush on her, and now that it had finally materialized into a fully-fledged relationship, he wasn't sure that's what he wanted…Jackie was great, no doubt there, she was funny, caring, motivational and knew exactly what to say and when to say it. She always knew how to lift the morale of everyone, but right now, that ability was lacking right when it was needed the most…They've reached the top…guess what. There was a small pond underneath the biggest tree. A perfect scenery for heavy-handed romance. Jackie lied down underneath the protective crown of the king of the hill, dragging Marco, along with her. Another awkward silence followed and it seemed like neither of them was going to break it…The bloodied moon and the teal one, were now both glowing as bright as each other, basking the two mute teenagers in a mauve light…

"Marco…Can I ask you something?" Jackie's words fell like a book dropping in a library, bidding farewell to the uneasy reticence.

"Sure, anything," he hastily answered…

"Okay, let me start by saying that, I don't care much for the fact that we didn't see each other for a week, because you were busy. I find it cool that you are going to these great lengths to find Star…But at the same time, I feel like you're not doing this just for the sake of your friendship…Is there something you've been…hiding from me?"

"Well…I…I honestly don't know…"

"Come on, dude, you've been able to write essays I couldn't even imagine, but you just flinch at this question…"

"Well, it's the truth…I don't know what I can say apart from that…I hadn't had time to process all the events. I mean, how would it be to you, if I told you that I had a crush on you, then just leave…possibly forever?"

"Frankly, I wouldn't mind that, unless…I had some feelings for you."

"Wait…you're implying…"

"Yes, Marco, this is what I am driving at. After that night, didn't you notice we've kinda drifted apart? I understand she was your best friend and all, but still. You've been gone for hours a day, trying your best to find a way to get her back…I would've been fine if you would at least, given me some kind of context to all this, so I wouldn't be worrying like I was for nothing…"

"You've been worrying about me? Why?"

"Because…you know, we've got this thing going on…called a relationship?"

Marco remained silent for a while. He was thinking the whole situation over…And he had the time to do so, should Jackie not interrupt his train of thought with:

"Look, Marco…I don't think this needs any further explanation, from my side…You're obviously torn apart what you feel for Star and what you feel for me…And we both know where this is going to end. You're a great guy, and I like spending time with you. You're determined, caring, extremely tenacious, but…I don't know, I hate this situation…I believe this is what you and Star experienced, right? Anyway…To finalize my point, I think, it's obvious for both of us that, your feelings for your 'best friend'," she said making air quotes, "are more than that. And I am not the one to stay in the middle of this kind of thing. I care for you, Marco, but I can't keep you in a relationship that chains you down to someone, you can't possibly be happy with…"

She grabbed the scissors from his hoodie pocket and, without a word, Marco was told what to do…He opened a portal to her home, and she stepped inside it, saying nothing more than a simple:

"Goodbye, Marco."

He then, fell defeated leaning on the trunk, under which his first relationship ended. Now he could finally think clear, under the intense crimson glow of the blood moon above him…He had noticed this, but all subconsciously, as his mind was now focused on…nothing. He was broken, inside and outside. He put his hood on, isolating himself in a fortress of solitude, thinking about what he had done wrong…or right. Will he go on with his training? On the one side, that was what caused this whole break-up to happen, but on the other side, it was the only way to get his best friend back… It was an easy choice…Lose all, or fell the pain that precedes the gain. Now that, this was out of the way…he started wrapping his mind around the whole party… Star had confessed to him, then left in a hurry, leaving him hanging, and running after a disappearing mirage. Now, he didn't know what to say about this…Ever since the first time, things got…closer between them, he was feeling weird…Although, his crush on Jackie occupied the most of his heart, there was an empty space there, reserved, allegedly for…Star. It had been there for a while now, but now that Jackie was out…it had been noticed… Did he really like her? It would explain so much, and yet it would lay a shroud of darkness on many other things…Why didn't he do anything about it from the first obvious signs? Why was he so oblivious? Why didn't he say anything after Ruberiot's song apart from…what he mistakenly did…Why is hindsight always 20/20 and the pain of it is directly proportional…

With so many unanswered questions, that only grew more impossible to clarify, he returned to his bedroom. About four hours had passed, meaning that he should be getting ready for bed. He couldn't sleep, but soon enough he grew tired from overanalyzing and overthinking everything…The first thing, next morning, he was ready for his training more than ever, but before they would start, he had to ask something…

"Umm…do you know anything about other dimensions?" Marco asked, knowing full well how stupid it sounded.

"No, I make dimensional scissors completely oblivious of anything that is comprised within them," Hekapoo answered sarcastically.

"Do you know anything about a dimension with two moons, one red as my hoodie and the other sky blue?"

"I know one that has two moons, but one is not crimson."

"Then, it's not where I've been last night."

"Don't be so sure about it," Hekapoo said, suddenly beginning to pay full attention to Marco. "Have you ever heard of the Blood Moon?"  
"Yeah, Star and I danced under it, at the Blood Moon Ball, about half a year ago…"

"Well, that settles it. You know, the Blood Moon, binds the souls of those she shines her light upon. Forever. It's one of the most unbreakable omens of the universe. The fact that you saw it in the Reflective Dimension, where all your feelings are mirrored by your surroundings, means its effect was prevalent there. What happened yesterday?"

"My girlfriend broke up with me…"

"And it was at that moment, that the teal moon disappeared, and the crimson one shone brighter than ever, engulfing you in its mysterious light?"

"Yeah…how did you know that?"

"I am a magic being from the High Magic Committee? It's pretty much my job and duty to know this kind of things. Still, I will elaborate. The Blood Moon, represents the one you are bound to, in this case the princess. The teal moon, represented your girlfriend…with whom you broke up. That's pretty much it."

"Aham…thanks, for nothing," he mumbled for himself, but Hekapoo heard him.

"You're welcome for nothing. Now buckle up, we're gonna spar for a while today…"

Hekapoo cut open a portal and, after stepping in it, Marco found himself in a fiery arena, surrounded by a plethora of Hekapoo clones.

"You can't leave until you beat us all. Just like the good old days."

"Great…" Marco exclaimed exasperated. He then began to use his martial arts knowledge to start working his way out of the arena, by beating up the fake Hekapoos.

"So...apparently Star and I's souls are now bound together for the rest of our lives…Amazing…I don't know how I feel about this. I mean, I like Star and all that, but finding out that it's kinda forced by an undeniable omen of the universe…it's unsettling. I asked Hekapoo what would break the spell we are under…and I got the best answer ever… Death. And something about another omen, I didn't quite understand…some kind of beacon…I can't help but wonder what would've happened if I weren't so stubborn that night and just let Star go on her own. I remembered that Tom said something about how our dance was meant for him, so probably what I did is for the better, but still…It's pretty screwed up. I hope that, in the end, everything will work out well…apart from the fact that Scott had died…You know, now that I think of it…I feel ashamed of myself, because I didn't even care that much when I found this out…It might be the remnants of our strained relationship, or it might be just the fact that I was so distraught, I couldn't process this…But I just…I couldn't…Damn. I can't even write in my diary what I feel…Why is this all so confusing? Ugh…I can't wait to get this all over with…But, I have this strange hunch that, Scott isn't as dead as I think him to be…Nobody really stays dead with resurrection spells, do they?"

And that concludes Marco's diary entry for that day.


	13. Family Ties

While Marco was busy learning how to properly make us of his enchanted little trinket, Star was doing some training of her own. Despite her usual, easy-going nature, that she could barely ignore, even in serious times, recent events have determined her to let that attitude go, and for the first time in her fourteen years, think of something else rather than having fun. However, it's not something you can just switch off at will, not for her, at least. This lifestyle was so deeply embedded in her brain, that, occasionally, she had to have an outlet. After today's intensive session of learning magic, she was completely exhausted, mentally. After all, it's not every day that you can pat yourself on the back for self-teaching yourself to cast a forceful pulse that would knock out any nearby enemies… She was now aimlessly wandering the hallways of the now deserted castle, trying to find any sort of new way of entertaining. After a couple of days, she had grown bored of playing with the plethora of critters from the castle's yard. They were cute and all, but she was not the person to repeat herself…

The corridors seemed empty, now that she knew what was behind every door. Even Scott's former dark area was completely explored…One more part, remained undocumented for Star. The palace had two towers. One harbored her room, the other was unaccounted for. She climbed the circular stairs, every step creaking loudly, making her wonder whether her late friend wanted to give this castle the atmosphere of a real-life medieval residence…She was now more careful, having her wand out to light her way. Suddenly a loud noise broke the unsettling silence, the wooden steps cracking before her, as if the universe was trying to let her know, along with all the other signals, that where she was headed was off bounds. She was startled for a second, almost casting a Narwhal Blast, but she regained her calm and skipped over the gap. But, as she landed on the other side, she was assaulted by a flock of bats, as cliché as that was.

"Awww, how cute, he even went to the effort to shelter these poor little bats." Star had a thing for animals, and animals had one for Star. They didn't attack her, but rather were circling her, trying to play.

"Well, I would love to play with you, little guys, but I kinda wanna see what's in this tower," she said casting a spell, that left a petite cotton candy for the little bats, on the other side of the hole. The critters rushed for the sweet food, leaving the princess go mind her business. What she had noticed is that, this tower had no windows, whereas hers was extremely well lit. Also, the paintjob was horrendous, it seemed like this entire area was meant to be as unattractive as it could be. Another heap of stairs later, she found herself face to face with a wooden door, whose handle reminded her of Ludo's castle entrance. It was simple, not many decorations, and a large iron handle with an ancient doorbell. She tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Ok, looks like we're gonna have to blast this open. Ahem," she cleared her throat while taking her usual spell-casting stance. "Rainbow Avalanche!" A waterfall of liquid rainbow spewed out of her wand, but the second it hit the door, it bounced back to her, almost knocking her off her feet. After she recovered, being covered by multicolored…goo, she noticed the blue glimmer of a shield, emanating from her 'target'. She realized that spells would do nothing but bounce off, so she had to take a different approach.

"Hmmm, think Star, what could you do to…cut a hole through this door…Oh, duuh,' she said banging her forehead as she heard herself. She pulled out her dimensional scissors from her little bag, and, literally, cut a portal open, straight inside the room. She was pretty surprised to see what was there.

It seemed to be, Scott's bedroom. It had a small bed in the corner and a small nightstand next to it, on top of which a little gas lamp was resting. The walls were seemingly wooden, despite the tower being completely made out of rock, and covered in animal pelts. The wall behind his bed had a couple of hunting trophies on it. She recognized a moose, a buck and a bear, but the last two were unknown to her. In the opposite corner, there was a small desk, with a bulb, hanging above it. There was a small book, left open on it, looking disturbingly like the one she had seen in the library and one, that had caused everything to go downhill…With a shiver, she averted her eyes from the disturbing reminder of what she had done, and focused her attention on the wardrobe. She opened the large wooden armoire to see that it was filled with trench coats…And that was just one row. The others were filled with marron and gray jeans and an enormous amount of colored T-shirts she had never seen him wearing. On the side drawers, she found hats, shades, even masks, making her believe that Scott had some strange hobbies…such as maybe dressing up as a private-eye…And of course, the crowning jewel of the chamber was the large bookshelf that was more or less like a file cabinet. She had opened a random book, being surprised to see that it was full of notes.

"Star, in case you have cast a spell on the unicorns outside that caused them to go crazy and trample the garden, go to the Glitter Depot and sprinkle any light-colored tube in their stables. Despite your best friend is a unicorn, I believe I should remind you that unicorns are extremely addicted to it, and would inadvertently follow you anywhere, should you provide them with glitter."

"Well, that would've been helpful the day before," she said looking out the only window in the entire tower, to spot the empty stables.

She was awed by the amount of notes her friend has written. The entire bookshelf was filled with collections of his little post-its, each book having about a hundred of them glued to every page…He never took risks, it seemed. He was quite like Marco in this aspect. From all of those miniature bookstores of warning labels, one really standing out. It was a light pink slim brochure on the top shelf, with an unreadable name, from that distance. Star summoned an owl feet to grab the book for her, and, after knocking the worn out diary that was lying open on Scott's desk, she turned on the flashlight function of her wand and started reading it.

"Star's Special Notes," she read the title. "Uuu, wonder what's inside," she said, turning the first page. A yellow post-it note, however blocked her from going any further.

"Star, if you ever open this book, I will be forced to leave you forever, and you will have to face Toffee on your own. I know it sounds harsh and completely uncalled for, but this is the truth, so please bear in mind this, before snooping around, which we both know you will."

"Pfff, he knows me waaaay too well." She decided to respect his privacy, remembering what she has caused before, but she couldn't defeat her curiosity. She slipped the little book in her small bag, then resumed her task…which was nosing around Scott's living quarters. Since, the room didn't have anything else to explore, she decided to leave, but leave the chamber as if no one had ever come in. Star lifted the worn out book from where she had thrown it, only to find out her title was a little bit less scary than what she thought it would be.

"The Reason Why I Built This Room"

She had nothing better to do and she figured out there was no harm in learning more about her friend…Even if he was now on the other side…

"First of all, whoever you are, person who reads this, I would like to apologize that I had allocated an entire book for something I could've written on a piece of paper. But, alas, I already tainted the pages with my ink, so I might as well just continue. I had built the castle, you'll find this book in, in order to shelter the princess Star Buttefly, during the time a great evil, the same queen Moon Butterfly had to face, had grown too strong for any place to be safe, apart from this one. This palace was designed to suit every need of Star Butterfly, providing her with the fun she craves for, a library filled with the best books, a magic tutor can resort too and perhaps the most important of all…cute animals. But alas, I had gone to the lengths of creating something for myself…This is the first time in my 1414 years of existence that I had finally managed to find accommodation. It's the first time I can finally settle down somewhere, as I plan this to be my permanent residence after…this fiasco of me serving the royal family ends. The room, you'll most likely find this book in, is an exact replica of where I used to live, prior to me transforming into what I am today…It's a memento of my former life, one that was…much simpler than what I have now and a lot more enjoyable. There is a hidden switch underneath my bed, by the way. I find that the good old secrets, my ancestors used to conceal their belongings are, indeed, the best. You'll find an extremely cherished item of mine in there, mainly because it's an expression of myself. I had a gift when I was a child, and only now, after finally being able to take a breather from all the commotion I had to go through, I managed to finalize what I had been working for a long time now…3 centuries almost. Star Butterfly, if it is you who finds this message, I would like to request that you do not open that little hatch…I am sorry, because I know I am extremely harsh with you, with all the interdictions and what-not, but I have my reasons for doing so…This is all that I have to say, to you, who have been brave enough to wander here…Farewell."

"Argh…why am I forbidden to do so many things around here…You know what? That's pretty much enough of what I can take!" Star said suddenly infuriated as she had started moving the bed to reveal the hatch beneath it. She opened it only to find another note, taped to an enormous scroll.

"Star…" she started reading the note, but she didn't go through with it, because she was too mad to listen to another thoughtful advice. She grabbed the scroll, put it in her bag and then left the room, using her dimensional scissors to teleport to her room. Without any hesitation, she started opening the scroll to reveal the corner of what appeared to be a painting.

Suddenly a flashing light emanating from the rugged paper, temporarily blinded her. After her vision returned to her, she was greeted by a strange translucent Scott ghost, who was staring blankly through her.

"You didn't listen Star, and I knew you wouldn't…Two beasts are going to be spawned who will ruthlessly destroy the castle and hunt you, until that scroll is put back in its place. Okay, maybe I am a bit too rough, should I go through with this?" Scott's ghost seemed uncertain as it disappeared, leaving his rhetorical question unanswered. The painting was now glowing red, a weird rune appearing on it…Star wasn't afraid of anything that would come. She had been fighting monsters her whole life, what could Scott possibly get to defeat the undefeated?

A wicked gigantic paw had exited the portal, and after it the small body of a creature resembling a Chihuahua followed. Soon enough, the second beast was spawned. It was a little turtle, with little sharp claws on its front flappers. The two were extremely cute, Star's only real weakness.

"Awww, he sent you two poor things to fight me? Woah, don't kill me with your ruthlessness," she taunted the pair of guardians, Scott has chosen to protect his dear painting, while petting them. The two critters were calm, the dog, panting absently while the turtle was retracting in its shell. Star approached slowly, the Chihuahua jumping in her arms, shaking nervously as she petted it. She grabbed the turtle and, while holding them both, she started further unfolding the painting…

The second she touched the rolled up paper, she could hear the little dog growl and feel his unusually sharp teeth digging into her hand. Instinctively she threw him across the room. As its paws touched the ground, he recovered instantly and, after frontflipping through the air, he landed on all fours, his snout filled with foam. The turtle, hastily jumped out of her grasp and, with insane speed, rejoined its friend.

"Okay, that's usually not a good sign," Star exclaimed grabbing her wand, slowly, as to not trigger the attack of the two apparently innocent animals. "Nightmare Narwhal Blast!" she yelled as the narwhals flew from her wand towards the formidable duo.

Not only did the aquatic mammals do no damage, but they…were absorbed by her enemies who grew bigger. The Chihuahua's eyes turned red and it barked, sending a shockwave towards Star, who avoided it at the last second. It was so powerful, that it threw her bed through the brick wall behind her…

"Okay, looks like nothing that summons things can work…Dagger Crystal Heart Attack!" she yelled, trying one of her usual, more powerful spells. The sharp heart-shaped projectiles, merely grazed their skin as they bounced off, ripping apart the pink carpet beneath them…It didn't even hurt them but rather it annoyed them, because it was their turn now to attack. With its limping run, the dog started charging Star, while the turtle retracted in its shell and started spinning. Using her Bunny Rabbit Blast, she jumped out of the way, but the Chihuahua was unable to stop its reckless run. It crashed through the wall, further enlarging the hole from earlier.

"Phew, that was close," she said gasping, but she couldn't catch her breath, because after gathering enough momentum, the little turtle transformed itself into an incredibly fast projectile, that flew past her ear at a blinding speed, bouncing off the walls of her room. Covering her head, she used her dimensional scissors to cut open a portal to escape her trap. As she was stepping through, the little organic shuriken was still chipping away the integrity of her chamber and the walls started shaking, signaling that the room would be collapsing soon.

She reappeared in the castle yard, just in time to see her tower falling down.

"Crud…Where am I going to be sleeping now?" she said to herself. The sound of crumbling bricks was covered by an unsettling howl that escaped the Chihuahua's throat. Right after that, a small quadruped figure was seen escaping the ruins of her living quarters. It was the dog. Breaking a lower level window, the turtle also got out from the castle, landing in the empty stables, causing them to break instantly. The little dog was now sitting about twenty feet across from her, growling in the low pitch of a St. Bernard, showing its extremely long fangs that gave him a threatening yet derpy look, making him seem like he had an enormous under bite. Letting loose another howl, he started charging again, like a ram, crushing the grass underneath its feet. A couple of inches away from Star, the Chihuahua lunged forward with its monstrous paw, but she was too nimble for it. The dog's wicked teeth got stuck in a tree behind her. In the meantime the little turtle had already destroyed the stables.

Using her Rainbow Blast, she propelled herself up in the air, landing in the middle of the hedge maze. She hid behind the tall bush walls, hoping to relax for a bit and find a way to face the immune-to-magic beasts. She couldn't even start elaborating a plan, because Scott's ghost appeared near her. He was apparently programmed only to speak at certain moments of time. Therefore, an attempt to have a conversation with his projection was not possible…

"Look, Star, these beasts are unbeatable…for once, you must follow the rules and stop being so reluctant. Just put the painting back from where you took it. Let me have my secrets, like you do…You still have that closet with you, but I couldn't transfer it from your parents' castle…Just let go…" Scott's ghost said as it faded away again.

"Great…He will be back again to scold me, that's sure. Okay, Star, think," she said chewing the top part of her wand trying to come up with a battle plan. "So, I can't hurt them with magic of any kind…so I will have to use physical force. That's fine," she smiled wickedly. With a flick of the wrist, her wand changed into an axe. Her teal dress turned into a black suit of armor, and the hearts on her cheeks turned into skulls. She put on a helmet, she kept in her little, yet spacious bag. It was just in time. She saw the green walls of the labyrinth flying over, probably knocked up by the raging Chihuahua. The second it had charged through the last barrier and jumped towards her with its sickening jawline, Star reacted by jabbing the critter with her enormous axe. The dog squealed in pain and was thrown back on the path he had created. But it didn't even seem affected, despite its tormented screech. It had a bleeding wound on its chest, but it only seemed to fuel the rage in his eyes. It started charging again, faster than before, leaving her little time to strike back. She stroke again, her axe sending him flying in the air. It recovered while still airborne and, with an unknown surge of power, it started diving towards her. She was ready, holding her axe like a bat, like the lil' slugger she was. However, its velocity was too much for her. Realizing she wouldn't be able to counter its attack in time, she jumped out of the way, but the Chihuahua fell like a rocket, digging deep in the ground, forming a crater, the shockwave of the impact, knocking her away.

The dog was stuck, but she barely managed to get up in time, to parry the turtle that, with blinding speed, sprung itself towards her. The collision was too much for the wand-axe, its blade shattering. The wand was powerful and durable, but if it were damaged in any of its forms it would lose its strength until it was fixed. Reverting to its original shape, Star noticed that the little wings on the wand's side were broken, their little feathers falling on the ground.

Star wasn't the only one harmed in the impact, as an important law of Physics dictates that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. With a cracking sound, the turtle's shell broke, letting the small, yet extremely swift animal to shriek in agony…Suddenly Star realized what was happening, but needed some time to think through a plan. In tense situations, when you must be quick-minded, ideas came to her slower than ever. She, however knew that she had to leave as fast as possible, as she could hear the dog's blood-freezing howl, echoing throughout the dawn… She sliced a portal open and stepped through it, avoiding the Chihuahua's deadly charge at the last second.

She didn't know quite where to go, or what she should be doing. She found herself in the middle of an arena, stranded on the pillar surrounded by rivers of molten lava. Her memory got jogged soon enough. She remembered the layout of the castle, as she saw it on the map in the main hallway. It had two above ground stories and one underground level…She could vaguely recall seeing the word 'coliseum' somewhere around that area. But that didn't matter.

The arena was perfect for skirmishing with the two brutal beasts. She could hide in many places and numerous weapons were scattered across the floor, meaning that she could engage in melee combat multiple times, without the fear of being left unarmed. Hearing the destruction above, as the critters were decimating the castle, in their rampant search for her, she knew that she had to come up with a plan fast. Star hid behind a huge rock, on the left side of the pillar, trying to calm herself down and think.

"Okay, apparently the more I try to damage them with magic, the more powerful they become and the same goes with physical attacks. However if I strike them with any weapon, they get hurt, but perhaps their bonus is bigger…I must find a way to one-shot them," she said hopelessly looking up. That's when she saw the enormous stalactite being held by a collar and four chains. She didn't know why it was there, nor did it make any sense for an enormous geomorphic structure to be there, but how could she argue with Scott's flawless logic. After all, he was sent to protect her, and his hellspawns were now after her, trying to kill her. Just over a stupid painting.

"I swear, that if that painting is not something that shows him getting his first haircut or anything embarrassing, I will be extremely mad at his dead face…"

She didn't have time to think through her half insult, as the Chihuahua and the turtle came crashing in the arena, landing on each side of the pillars. The fury and rage in their wrath-filled eyes was burning a hole through her. Without any warning, the two began their simultaneous thrust towards her. It was at this point, that she thought her plan was going to be rendered moot. She blasted herself high in the air, grabbing one of the thick chains, holding the stalactite in place. The feral duo were now bound to crash into each-other…Should they not be Scott's spawns. They were not as stupid as she gave them credit for. They merely grazed each other's fur and scales, passing just inches away from each other. They jumped from the arena's outer walls, straight towards Star's hiding place. Seeing them, Star dropped, cushioning her fall with her Rubber Sparkle Bounce House, but now her plan was ruined. The immense rock, she was going to crash the two beasts with was turned to rubble.

Now she had to think fast and act even faster…The longer the fight went on, the lower her chances became. She was exhausted and barely able to make decisions anymore. After this much stress and spell-casting she knew her reflexes were going to fail her, should she be forced to jump away again. Her armor, albeit thick, couldn't take the blow of their shattering attacks. The turtle and the dog, shook their devastating impact off and, using the ceiling as a spring, they were plummeting towards her bounce house. She got up, but by the time she had left her inflatable safe place…they were ten feet above her. Judging by their momentum, she had about half a second to react.

They say that time slows down in the face of imminent death. And so it does. Star could move faster in comparison with her two assailants, but it was only in her mind…This Ex-Machina trick only bought her more time to contemplate…her helplessness. Suddenly a thought came to her mind. Why did Scott do this? Why is he trying to harm her, when he had sworn to protect her? Was it because he died, that he had no control over this kind of thing? If he were alive, wouldn't he stepped in at the first sign of distress? But now, with him gone… she was about to die as well. Come to think of it, she would have gotten in trouble a lot more often if it hadn't been for her two boy friends. They both saved her countless times. She had saved Marco in return, but Scott never needed her help…Maybe in the afterlife she would have time to repay him…

"STAR!" a familiar voice yelled. Scott's ghost appeared next to her.

"Yeah, what? I'm busy dying… "

"Use Levitato and crash a rock into them. They will be sent into the molten lava below, due to their velocity and they will perish."

"Oh, okay…"

She did exactly as told…Threat eliminated.

"Hold on…I thought you were just a robot…you know, programmed to just say things, not actually answer…"

"I've split a part of my consciousness in this fail-safe. It is supposed to only trigger when you'd be close to dying."

"Why did you do this?!" She asked, trying to violently shake the ghost, but she ended up falling through him.

"Okay, I'm limited to answering one question, because the spell I used wasn't the best. When I cast it I was…pretty distraught," Scott's ghost said a bit nervous. That was strange…

"Yeah, amazing…What the heck made you do all this?"

"What I am hiding has an enormous emotional value to me…You weren't supposed to see it…but there was no harm in seeing it. I guess, I overreacted a bit…"

"OVERREACTED A BIT?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, I ALMOST DIED!" But she was yelling at nothing…Scott's ghost faded away, for the last time, perhaps.

"Ugh!" She grunted infuriated. She used her scissors to teleport back to the ruins of her room…Actually, the whole castle was now just a ruin, akin to what was left of Ludo's palace. The scroll was completely unharmed though…She unrolled it, revealing Scott's "great secret"

It was…beautiful. It was an enormous picture…showing all the queens before her, each represented in her own unique way, as if those images were taken from her wand…She localized her mom. She was painted with clubs on her cheeks and so were a couple others. Star didn't quite understand why. Eclipsa was shown laughing, but not in an evil way…her gaze was innocent and thoughtful, not twisted and condescending. She seemed…different from the way everyone knew her…Did Scott know something she did not, about Eclipsa? There was also, someone she didn't quite remember among her relatives. It was a brown-haired girl...that she had seen somewhere before. She was the first from the left...

Something clicked in Star's mind. Her mother was the rightmost figure…her ninth great grandmother was the eleventh. There was no one else from outside the family in that picture. Did that mean that she was a relative of hers that she didn't ever hear of? Most important of all, she finally recognized her. It was…Scott's girlfriend. Was she…somehow related to her? And there was something else that bothered her, or surprised her, actually. She was the one who was put in the center of attention. She was portrayed, with her wand raised to the sky, smiling and blushing. Star wasn't wearing her royal gown, but her green dress, her rhino boots and her pink-orange stockings. She was looking up...towards nothing apparently. But only then, she saw the heavy-handed symbolism. The tip of a red hoodie was clearly visible… There were only two little details she didn't notice. Scott was also present there. His shadow was cast at Star's feet, his trench coat silhouette being clearly visible...And the exquisite piece of art had a title too, but its last word was scribbled off.

"The one(s) I never got to…" the only letter still visible was an 'e' at the end…


	14. Reunited

It was the middle to end of July, back on Earth. Summer was in its prime now, the blistering heat tearing holes through the air-conditioned defenses of homes all around Echo Creek. Marco, however had no problem with the heat. Throughout the last month, he had trained in the freezing temperatures of the Arctic Array and the incredible torridity of the Underworld, so these extreme conditions seemed pretty puny to him. He had become a fearsome warrior, under Hekapoo's intense training schedule. He had really grown on her over the last couple of weeks, mainly because their personalities complimented each other greatly. He was anxious and pretty afraid of everything, whilst she was pretty calm and had this extremely bored aura surrounding her. However, that aura was negated whenever the two fought. You could call it the thrill of the fight, perhaps. They had travelled to different areas, in order for Marco to learn that he should always use the vicissitudes of the environment to his own advantage. This was an important part of scissor-sparing, as Hekapoo cleverly put it. Since you were going to teleport around, the battlefield had to be your ally, but it might as well be your worst enemy. Should you be on unknown ground, you must be at all times aware of your surroundings. Especially if you happen to just appear between groups of enemies, who greatly outnumber you…

She had taught him, that, in this sort of fight-style, you can always win, regardless of the odds. And he found that out, by completely decimating legions of her clones, all at once, using nothing but clever tactics. He was far from being a mastermind of the battlefield, relying more on pure brawn, rather than on brain, but he had gotten by thus far. She managed to teach Marco about different dimensions as well, specifically about Mewni. He learnt that Mewni had different layers, one of which was where the Royal Family lived, and the one he was the most acquainted with, another one, being the Underworld, Tom's family was inhabiting and the last one being that elevated ground, where the High Magic Committee was located. The biggest, and most varied of all, was the middle ground, due to its well-known 'good side' and its extremely versatile evil sides, ranging from swamps of monsters, forests of doom and perilous mountain peaks to innocent, yet extremely vicious realms, inhabited by the most devious and deceiving of creatures.

One day, after their usual training routine had come to an end, Hekapoo looked sad, yet happy at the same time. It was a weird mix, confusing, yet intriguing at the same time.

"Look, kiddo…Today's the last day of our little thingy we've got going on here for the past month or so…"

"You mean…"

"Yep, I've passed down to you every single thing I've learned in my loooong life. Now all you can do is teach yourself whatever you need."

"So…I'm ready to go and look for Star?"

"Oh…that. My guess is that you've always been ready, but your friend wanted you to be more than prepared. I believe you'll have some trouble along your way, because he had been nothing but a know-it-all for his entire life, and he was fully aware of what lurks in Mewni."

"Anything else, I've got to know, before I head for my doom?"

"Hmmm…I can't read anything in your amigo's gesture to send you to me, so nothing about that. And since, I've taught you all I can, I guess there's nothing left to say now, except for…goodbye."

Marco didn't know how to react. This happened so fast, the change was so sudden…Was he really prepared to take on the challenges that finding his best friend would pose? It was an unknown territory, unknown dangers, unknown…everything. It was all a sea of uncertainty, and he wasn't sure he was ready to dive in.

"You gonna leave me hanging or what?"

"Oh…no, sorry. Thanks for everything you have done for me, Hekapoo," he said bowing down, as if he was speaking to his karate sensei.

"No problem, Marco," she said slapping the back of his head, burning his hair, just like the good old days.

"You've…called me by my name," Marco replied, after having already stepped one foot in the portal back home. "You've never done that before."

"Call it a goodbye gift. Now chop-chop, you've gotta get to your beloved," Hekapoo said smirking, as she ushered Marco inside the portal, teasing him at the same time. "See ya around!"

And with that, the portal closed behind Marco, leaving him standing in his room, all alone. He had to gear up, before embarking on this ultimate trip and…what better place to shop for your interdimensional needs other than Quest Buy. After he had cracked the map of the seemingly infinite 'shopping center', he wasn't wandering around the hallways aimlessly like the other simple-minded buyers. He knew exactly where to go, and since he had made a list with what he needed to look for, he was a relentless shopping machine.

He cashed out a light suit of armor, a sharp, curved dagger a pouch for water, a bag for any important items he might need to stockpile, sheathes for his two weapons, an pixie-iron helmet and boots and last, but certainly not least, a pen and notepad, because he was out of them. They all costed the incredible sum of six hundred and fifty human dollars. Returning home and equipping what he had bought, he was now staring at himself in the mirror. He resembled a knight in shiny armor as they were portrayed in video games or movies. The little dagger on the right side and the dimensional scissors, sheathed on his left, made him look as if he had chosen the 'Thief' class. The helmet complimented and completed his appearance, covering his brown hair, making him look threatening. Overall he was ready physically, but mentally he didn't know whether or not he will be able to withstand the trials awaiting for him. He grabbed his scissors and contemplated them for a minute or so, after finally clenching his hand on them and opening the portal to Mewni. Hesitating still, he stepped in and now his fate was sealed, as the entrance closed behind him…

He 'spawned' in a forest, fairly lit, unlike the darker woods he had encountered in his many leaps through multiple dimensions. A giant tree was reigning over the landscape and Marco could see its majestic crown, stretching on, seemingly endless in size. He decided to head for the king of the forest and use it as a viewpoint and a way for him to find out more about his surroundings.

The armor suit did nothing to slow him down, although its weight was considerable. He could run at the same speed and his mobility was the same, so he had no problem with that aspect. However, the helmet restricted his field of view, meaning he could be easily flanked…But he didn't have to worry about enemies at this point, because the only living creatures around him where peaceful: deer, bunnies, foxes, they were his 'companions' throughout his mighty quest.

Strangely enough…his adventure was uncannily resembling the story line of a role-playing game. It started lightly, with a rather innocent-looking map that only symbolizes the quiet before the storm. He couldn't help but wonder for a second, if the rest of the trip was going to be the same. But, if Scott decided it was for the best if he got the training he had received…maybe he knew what was hiding beneath that delightful surface.

Having reached the enormous tree, he was extremely surprised to found a note on the humongous trunk. It bore Scott's handwriting and a supporting message on it…That was strange, given his other messages, which were more written to give advice, rather than encourage anyone…

"Marco, congratulations on embarking on this journey to find Star. I wanted to tell you that what you've signed up for is not…easy. I had constructed Star's hideout, bearing in mind the power Toffee has, therefore it has a lot of…defenses, for lack of a better word. You will need to be brave and bold, and should you ever lose hope, or want to give up, remember why you are doing this all for…for whom you are going through all of this, especially. It is imperative that you reach Star's castle (yes we are talking about a castle, whose towers you should be able to see from the top of this tree), in two days. You may ask, how I know that, provided that I have no idea when you will find this note. The answer to that is…because I am Scott. I have no better way to put it. You shouldn't try to climb up and use this 'Old Oak', as it's called, as a viewpoint, because it would only waste time. I know what I said earlier, but still…It's me we're talking about. I suppose Hekapoo taught you some things about Mewni like how the Sun rises from the north, sets to the east, and never points south. Bear this in mind, because you must only go north, ok? With that said, I wish you all the luck you need to succeed in your journey.

P.S. Any enemies you would encounter, you are free to slay. They are nothing but figments of my imagination and were brought into reality for the express purpose of defending the princess. Take care."

It's funny how Scott still had such a great influence on his life, even from beyond the grave. It seemed that posthumous he was more present than he ever was before. Marco couldn't wrap his head around how the heck these notes kept popping out. Maybe he wasn't dead after all. Maybe it was just an elaborate trick to trigger this change for him, to transform his life into what it should be. Perhaps he was the heavy hand of fate that was driving the plot of his life forward. But, then…why go to the trouble of sending him to Hekapoo, when he was more than capable of teaching him those things himself. The hypothesis was shaking now, Marco being the one to denounce his own arguments as always. Still, he had this theory for a while now and he couldn't just erase it, so he put it on the backburner for the moment.

But he had pandered enough already. Looking towards the setting sun, he realized the direction he should be going on and decided to go as far as he could, until night would settle in. However, he wasn't used to Mewni's time progression. The second the sun touched the horizon, it seemed like it sucked him in, leaving Marco in the dark almost instantly. He stopped under a rather solid looking tree, whose trunk had a hole inside as if it were specifically made for someone to take shelter inside. Using his survival skills, gathered from spending a total of sixteen years living on a prayer, mostly, he had lit up a fire. He stuck his dagger and his dimensional scissors in the ground, as he saw many knights do in the movies, even if he didn't know why. Perhaps it was, in case of danger, they would be handy and he wouldn't have to stumble with unsheathing his weapons. He removed his helmet and laid his head on the ground. Thinking of the journey he had ahead, he fell asleep…

A loud crackling noise woke him up, as the moon was in the middle of the sky, signaling it was midnight. Marco, didn't know exactly what broke his light sleep. He could hear the rustling bushes around him, and a series of strange growls. Putting his helmet on, he grabbed his dagger and his dimensional scissors and, hiding further inside the hollow and waited for his unknown enemies to show up. The tip of an enormous snout popped out from the hedges on his left. Following it, a humongous horned reptilian head and the monstrous body of what appeared to be a wyvern, showed themselves to the on-the-prowl boy. Marco had three choices now. He either fought his much more powerful intruder, driving him off his camp, waited for the beast to leave or teleport himself to a safe place. The first one was completely out of the question. He could destroy Ludo's powerless monsters and go toe-to-toe to some chaotic neutral forces, but he wasn't going to fight a fricking dragon! So, he patiently and silently waited, his heart skipping a beat with every earthshaking step the huge reptilian. He was hoping that he wouldn't smell him or see him with his glow in the dark eyes, especially since he knew that his human stench was unbearable…

Thankfully the wyvern minded its own business, not even caring for the delicious boy hiding inside the tree. It continued its midnight stroll through the dark forest, looking for whatever immense mythological creatures search before the crack of dawn…The sun swiftly rose to its place on the wild blue yonder. Night and day were strange on Mewni…the transition between them was way too sudden for Marco. After about six hours of sleep, he set out towards the castle, being as tired as he was anxious. He could still hear the trees falling behind the mighty dragon's warpath and, with a relived sigh, he thanked himself that he didn't confront it.

Soon, he was at the edge of the forest. He could clearly see the towers of a medieval-looking castle in the distance, but he couldn't quite approximate how much it would take him to reach his destination…Mainly because there was a mountain he had to cross over. Mountain was an underestimation, though, because the rivers of lava flowing from its top, sent a very clear message. "You're facing a volcano here, boy!" Surrounding the base of the imposing peak was a burnt down forest…crawling with what amounted to legions of possible hellspawns…

"Why is this place so weird?" Marco asked out loud, dumbfounded by the diversity of Mewni's ecosystems. He made a 360 degree turn and took in the landscape this dimension had to offer. Obviously in 4 corners of the horizon, he saw four completely different sceneries. In front of him there was the blistering infernal décor of the smoking volcano, completely contrasting the calm, peaceful forest, crawling with adorable innocent critters he had left behind. Far in the distance, kissing the woods, the glaciers were creeping in the green of the grass, declaring war against the springtime reigning over the forest. It was the battle between the oldest and the youngest of seasonal sisters…and none were winning as their forces were at a ceasefire, resting quietly at the frontier between the two environments. On the other side, the ruthless, dry desert was slowly creeping in, engulfing with its ever-expanding sand dunes the virgin woods…Four corners of Earth's most extreme climates were found in an area of a couple of square miles on Mewni…This is how weird this place was, Marco…

He had two ways to assess the next part of his interdimensional trek. He could climb up the volcano, spending as little time as possible in the area with the horrendous monsters, but engaging in an extremely dangerous hike…Or he could go around the base, on the riverbank of the aforementioned lava stream, but he risked many battles with the grotesque beasts…He chose the latter, because it was less hazardous…Not even Marco, understood this decision, but he couldn't waste any time fixing the train of thought, halted at the station.

It was dusk again. The armored boy had successfully managed to repel the attacks of three packs of hellhound and one fiery harpy…The only thing he lost was a bit of blood, as the harpy's sharp talons slashed through his chest plate with ease, and his right shoulder pad was now being digested by the river of lava.

"Note-to-self, never fight packs of demons near lava. You can't survive falling in it, but they can," Marco wrote in his notebook. At least, he managed to cut the horn of one of the bigger beasts. He looked at it, thinking about the challenges he had faced so far…Apart from the fear he felt when the dragon passed before him, completely ignoring his stinky being and the four, rather easy fights, there was nothing else. The sun set, but the fiery magma was lighting his path with its incandescent glow…He could skip sleeping for the night in order to cover more distance. The castle's tall towers were blocking the moonlight from falling on this damned forest. This was a good sign. He was getting closer. If he were to walk all night long, tomorrow morning he would be knocking at the gate of the palace in no time.

The night was peaceful. He could hear the blizzard raging in the distance in the arctic corner of the world, and the crickets chirping from the exuberant forest. Those were the only noises breaking the lugubrious silence. He was glad for those, otherwise the tense atmosphere would've overwhelmed him…Marco had his dagger and his scissors in the same hand, walking with his guard up, expecting the worst. However… nothing attacked him for the rest of the night. The seemingly restless beasts were perhaps sound asleep. Strange. You'd think that at the shelter of darkness, these monsters would grow even more powerful, but they didn't. He was left wandering alone in the night, mirroring the course of the river, smiling. He was grateful that he had a moment to catch his breath.

Marco could see the end of the charred string of trees. Finally, he could see something else apart from the empty black leafless branches and the burnt slim trunks. Another forest, this one looking a lot like the one he had just passed through was contouring in front of him. Just a couple hundred feet were separating him from the exit from hell. For the first time, he left his guard down. He was exhausted, therefore his hearing and sight were slightly impaired…He didn't hear the light steps of the slim and shady silhouette that was slowly, yet surely crawling towards him. The second it grabbed Marco's leg, the boy instinctively kicked and recoiled, landing a feet away from the hot, deadly river. The strange hand of whatever touched him was still clenching his left foot. He shook it off and took his guarding stance. He could barely see his assailant…

It was a skeleton, his royal head wearing a rugged, worn out crown, a red jewel faintly shining on it. It was clearly the remnants of a former king, judging by the heavy armor he was wearing and the emblem on his shoulder pads. Even though he had absolutely no skin left sticking to his bones, he still had his long white hair he probably died with poking from beneath his crown. He wielded an enormous hammer that he could lift and presumably swing with only one hand, his strength remaining with him, even when he passed in the afterlife. His armor was heavy and thick. He had a multilayered chest plate, double knee pads, a big belt buckle from which a red cloth hanged, possibly the tip of the crimson cape hanging from his back. The boots he was wearing completed his knight-like appearance. The skeleton was looking at him menacingly, but didn't seem like he had any intention to attack. He walked up to his hand, grabbing it from where Marco had kicked it and he inserted his wrist back in its socket.

"A skeletal warrior? Scott couldn't think of anything else more original?" Marco taunted his royal enemy.

"I may be unoriginal, but I am what stands between you and the princess now, boy. I had been created to be the last stand between any evil and her."

"Oh…well, then. I am her best friend and her crush, for that matter. Does that qualify as me being good?"

"All who trespass are evil!" The skeleton yelled, his ghastly voice making Marco's blood freeze in his veins. The next thing he saw was the spectral warrior charging towards him. His hammer fell heavily on the ground, shattering the river bank Marco had dodged the attack from. The skeleton quickly dislodged it from the molten lava and swung it towards the nimble boy again, who jumped back about five feet, putting a safe distance between the psychopath and himself. Marco had already analyzed his enemy. He was slow-moving but could wield his phage with amazing speed. Even though he was dead, his strength was fearsome and his reflexes were intact…Marco had to take him by surprise.

He opened a portal and quickly appeared behind him, cutting his head with his dagger. He then grabbed his skull and threw it in the lava at the same time restraining his body with his free hand. However, he was silly to think that would end the fight…The warrior grabbed him with his powerful grip and threw him overhead, sending him about ten feet away from the headless skeleton. Marco saw him turning around and grabbing his head which was floating on the molten lava…With a loud crack, he put its skull back in its place and started slowly walking towards him, raising his mighty hammer. Marco rolled away from the fierce blow at the last second, but the skeleton was already preparing for another attack. Swiftly, Marco opened a portal underneath him. He fell on top of the king, thrusting his dagger in his skull. He jumped off, the skeleton's skull still stuck to his little blade, as the warrior fell to the ground with a loud thump.

Marco threw his skull on the ground, crushing it with his foot to guarantee that he won't be able to use it again. He was about to leave, having already sheathed his scissors and dagger, when an enormous wall appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Two more walls had risen to his sides, leaving the only way out to be behind him. He feared what he would see should he turn around, but still he had to look. Standing on his knees supporting his weight on his enormous hammer, the skeleton guarded the only exit. His hand was glowing green as he touched the small bones of his skull.

Before Marco's eyes, his head glued itself back together and with the same crack as before, he lodged it back in place. His gaze was not empty anymore…two red dots appeared in the middle of his empty eye sockets. Fueled by his rage, the skeleton swung his hammer at the ground, shattering the earth beneath. Marco couldn't jump high enough to avoid the attack and the shockwave was too fast. He couldn't teleport in time to dodge the quake, and it sent him flying in the air…He landed outside the tomb created by the skeleton. The force at which he was thrown, made him roll on the scorched ground, stopping when his head was hanging dangerously close to the magma river. He was too exhausted and weakened to be able to recover. He could feel the skeleton's heavy steps coming closer and closer to him. He saw his emotionless skull looking at him.

"Pathetic," he uttered as he raised his hammer, preparing for the final blast. His mighty mallet blocked out the moon as it was descending towards Marco, predicting his inevitable doom…

Or was it inevitable? Marco was reliving a former fight he had with Hekapoo…She had cloned herself to the point where he was surrounded by an armed legion of her. They all charged towards him, but he opened a portal and blinked away, leading to the clones destroying themselves…He could recall her words clearly:

"Whenever an enemy greatly exceeds your power, use that power against him. Make him hit himself, then maybe ask him why he did that."

This is how he came up with the idea of opening a portal above him, to shield his body from the crushing blow…The exit of his portal was behind the skeleton. His own force made his bones break and scatter all over the battlefield, some even landing in the lava…He had defeated the boss.

He gathered all his strength to get up. He was barely breathing, being extremely fatigued after a sleepless night and an intense fight…But he ignored that the second he looked towards the castle's direction and saw the two towers…and saw them falling apart. Using his adrenaline rush he exited the infernal forest and entered the 'blessed grounds' as he saw them to be.

The castle was surrounded by a barrier only visible from very close…Surprisingly Marco managed to pass right through it, no effort needed whatsoever. He carefully made his way through the ruins of the palace, his hand grasping the dagger's handle. His senses were all amplified now…he could clearly see all the cracks from the knocked down walls and he could hear the fire cracking the wood in the heart of one of the towers… And he could see the light being reflected by the shining blonde hair of his friend, who was too preoccupied to study a scroll…she didn't even notice him.

"S-Star?" he asked stammering?

"WOAH!" she recoiled loudly, blasting him out of nowhere. He was now stuck in a wall…

"M-Marco?" she asked realizing what she had done.

"Yeah," he groaned in pain as she helped him out of his hole.

You'd think that after so much time they spent separated, they would jump into each other's arms glad to be reunited…but that wasn't the case. The same awkwardness from before was still present between the two. No one knew how to break it…

"Listen, Star," Marco said, but got interrupted by Star.

"No…you listen Marco…I want to apologize about everything that happened between us…I'm sorry for the way I told you about 'the thing'…It was childish and immature, and I just took off afterwards just to top it all off. I'm sorry for the way I made you feel, I'm sorry for whatever I put you through…I'm sorry…" but this time she got interrupted by something she couldn't have possibly predicted. Marco locked his arms around her, tightly hugging her, while kissing her. She was at the same time: surprised, scared, amazed and glad.

"I'm just happy that you're ok…"

The moon above them shone bright, spilling her crimson light over the two kids hugging…And with this last ominous glow…the crowned queen of the night returned to her pale state…


	15. Revival

The second Scott fell through the portal...he was gone. Yet he wasn't. It was like Schrodinger's cat, in a way. When he woke up he was surrounded by nothingness. He looked to his left, to his right, up and down, behind him…the colorless void of space. Even he couldn't see himself. As he tried to lay eyes on himself, he noticed that, where his hands or feet should be, there was also…nothing. What was he anymore? He could think, therefore he could panic, but it seemed like there was something more to this. Where was he? In an apparent ubiquitous universe, where he was everywhere, but nowhere at the same time…Is it even worth calling that he 'was' something anymore? What could he be apart from a consciousness scattered across the infinite space?

"Good morning, Saturn." A calm, familiar voice felt the need to make its presence known. It sounded like it came from everywhere.

"Great. I should've thought you had some kind of connection with this…What did you do?" Scott asked annoyed, surprised a bit that he could speak.

"This is your punishment. I couldn't bear the thought of having killed you, but you had to endure the dire consequences of your actions. You had been doomed to an eternity of being erased from existence. You are here, but you aren't…It's a philosophical statement in a way, as you humans would portray it."

"How droll," Scott said mockingly. "Why did you choose to spare my existence?"

"I knew you'd ask that, Saturn…This takes me back a couple of eons. You know, I have to manage a lot of worlds, right? And with that I don't mean tiny dimensions of the same universe. I meddle with so many realms, I can't help but get bored. After all, I am omnipotent, but I still have emotions, such as boredom."

"You lost me, Hyperion."

"Let me find you then. Do you think you're the only one of your kind?"

"What exactly is my kind? If it's humans, then…isn't that pretty self-explanatory."

"No, it's actually what you were told and picked to do. To restore balance where it is not, to bring equilibrium where entropy is inbound. Do you believe you are the only one we had picked for this meaningful…chore to us?"

"I've gone to your library that you forbad me to go to, remember? There were many books about my homologues from other universes…"

"Yes, those were our archives. Even though there is an infinite number of possibilities, there is a finite amount of you. Strange isn't it?"

"I assume that's because there are an overwhelming number of 'balanced' worlds where your intervention is not needed, what's more, it would even cause it to fall into anarchy, am I right?"

"Correct. I know you had read all the names, found out all the identities of your parallels. However, didn't it seem odd to you that your name wasn't there? That you were the only one missing?"

"How would I know there are none others missing, Hyperion? Omnipotence, doesn't imply omniscience? It's surprising you'd make such an easy mistake…"

"I make no mistakes. Your existence is the only one not listed in that pompous register. And because I am tired of rhetoric, I will spare you of my tedious questions. You are not there, because we made you something special…"

"How come? I don't feel special to all the other millions like me…"

"You are. You're the only one to go rogue. You are the first and perhaps last that didn't follow our orders exactly. You had something that the others spineless characters we had created lacked…You had a soul. The second we created you, we thought you'd renounce your humanity and become a cold-blooded, distant protector, a beckoner of shadows who serves and guards from the safety of invisibility…That marked the first time we were wrong…"

"You just proved my earlier point, old man. You said you made no mistakes and now you admit you were mistaken…Will you make up your mind already?" Scott was visibly uninterested by Hyperion's speech. He wanted him to either just get to the point, or leave him be.

"You grew obnoxious over the years. And that's why the council hated you, yet I cared for you."

"For I was different?"

"Precisely. The acts of my mindless servants, who blandly and tediously reported their deeds to me were…mundane. You, however, were a breath of fresh air. Your calculated plans were reckless to us. And, I've got to say, they were extremely exciting for an ageless being such as myself. You were the first to break the pattern we had created, and for the first time, I actually enjoyed it, unlike my fellow members…"

"So you saved me, because you like me? Aham, gotcha'" Scott said irritated.

"Exactly. How could I destroy the character I had so much fun with? How could I cut the only bit of enjoyment I had still doing my duty? The other had found many ways to entertain themselves. You were mine…"

"I am nothing but a joke to you, am I? Your humble buffoon, who exists for the sole purpose of fueling your need for cheap thrills. How did you sink so low, Hyperion, you the most elevated of all beings?"

"As I said, I have my emotions. We are omnipotent, not perfect, although they preclude each other most of the time. You were more than this to me, Saturn. I could even go to the length of saying I looked to you as an apprentice."

"An apprentice? I am self-taught, I did all my studies on my own, gaining knowledge as I saw fit. Where did you factor in all this?" Scott didn't really think this through. He was now dreading the answer.

"It was all an illusion, my boy. I was there, unconsciously guiding you through your journey. Why do you think you got so powerful? You are above all the others, Saturn, and I believe you owe me thanks for this gift I had bestowed upon you, but alas, your nature forbids this…"

"Amazing…"

"Your history also made you different. The fighters we had appointed were almost as if bred from birth. Programmable and controllable. This is what made them so boring. You, however were taken for granted, among few others. We didn't take in account your emotional state, though."

"Where are you going with this, Hyperion?"

"You were fourteen when we took you in. That is when the coming of age of princesses of Mewni happens. It's an incredible age for humans and mewnians alike. At that age you were…developed, more than you should've been for this job."

"What does that matter? You still dissected me and removed a lot of my parts in your…analysis."

"It matters, because of one principle, that your wisest of men had studied for ages…I believe you know what I am talking about, isn't that right, Saturn?"

"Yes, unfortunately…I also want to thank you, for adding insult to injury and reopen a wound, I had long cauterized. You are speaking of love, the subject of poems and writings and theses and hypotheses for as long as humanity existed. A plague for ones, a dream for others, a feeling whose purity was debated for as long as it was discovered. And how does that account in my…rebellious nature?"

"We can't erase love, Saturn. It is in our power, but we are bound by universal laws as well. Love has been an important part of cultures across many universes and it's a key component of balance. Should we interfere with it, we would break our own rules and we can't forgive ourselves for that, therefore we choose to let it be."

"Get to the point already. Your rambling is painful…"

"Fair enough. You loved that girl, Aurora. And she loved you. We took you away from her, presented you the situation, and forced you to join our cause. It was a mistake from our part, given the consequences it had…"

"Yeah…Do you want to know the full depth of them? Because I am sure you just grazed the surface with your niche assumptions," Scott raised his voice, suddenly enraged. "After I was done with my job, coordinating the colonization of Mewni, by the first ever princess, I returned to my home. It was only for a couple of years, that I was gone. No harm could've been inflicted upon my home, could it? Wrong. A nearby tribe had decided all of the sudden to pillage and loot our village. My family and their folk were brave people, not ones to give up without a fight, but alas…they were outnumbered. Their house was burned to the ground, all of them killed, no one was left. Those barbarians destroyed the only ties I still had with my humanity…That was my turning point…I became the cold stone you wanted me to be straight afterwards. I focused on my duty and my duty alone from that point on. The rest is history…I had done well hadn't I? "

"No, you actually didn't…and that is my next point, Saturn…You were supposed to be a balance keeper. After you see the damage those 'barbarians', as you put it, you had been overcome with grief…You swore to yourself that you wouldn't let something like that happen to anyone you knew, am I correct?"

"Did I do wrong?"

"Again, yes. You became a unilateral force of good, tilting the scales too much…This is why the forces of evil gradually increased in power and number…You became more powerful over time, and we had to take action."

"Why did you have to take action? Isn't that my job?"

"If you can't handle the situation, we must chime in. However, after the whole Eclipsa fiasco, we came to the conclusion that it's for the better that we let you alone…"

"You screwed up there, didn't you? In your conceited ways, you had inadvertently made another mistake…You just kept adding on evil's side and when it just fell out of balance, you let me clear up after you…I had to go through generations of princesses to repair the damage you inflicted upon my world and now, I can see that I had to be more careful…Toffee, who is, as you should know, the main antagonist of this generation, is more powerful than I am. This was never seen before…And because I broke some of your stupid rules, that you, yourselves don't follow you imprisoned me here, where I've been for God knows how much, and left the princess alone to fight the demon! Now, please elaborate…WHY DID YOU THINK IT WAS GOOD TO CHIME IN?"  
"For the time being, it was good, but we can't possibly foresee all the consequences."

"That's the point of you existing, but fine, if you say so…"

"You must understand that we didn't…"

"Don't even go there, Hyperion. Continue your speech as if I didn't interrupt. Go on, I want to hear the rest of my sob story, I ache for it!"

"Very well…You had spent so many generation being the emotionless husk, you claim to be. But deep down, we both know that you cared deeply for the princesses you had protected. We both know the way you were betrayed by Eclipsa's change of heart. We both know the reaction you had training Aurora, the Generous…You couldn't even hear her name without having a mental breakdown, and about 300 years had passed from her namesake's untimely death…We both know the amount of effort you put in training the shiest of the princesses…We both know, how desperately you tried to convince Moon's mother not to send you to St. Olga's, and we both know how dismayed you were when you saw the end result. Your empathy made your world's principal force of good be the most powerful of them all. Earth and Mewni had more power than several other universes combined. The fact that you weren't just the silent guardian we made you to be, proved to be beneficial and it made the council rethink its ways for the first time ever…I was the one who initiated this new mode of managing our problems, but I was overwhelmed by the others' negative opinion…You see, Saturn, your 'humanity' behooved you so much in my eyes, but destroyed you in the eyes of the others, especially Enigma, the most ruthless and conservative of us all."

"I never understood why she hated me so much…"

"Our names are ironically put. Enigma, is the most straightforward being there is. She is so set in her ways and her desire for knowledge is so great, that she would stop at nothing that would stand in her way. You are human, a being resembling a nebula. Vague, undetermined and perhaps most important of all, unpredictable. The fact that your actions cannot be foreseen, drove Enigma insane…She couldn't wait for you to slip up, in order for her revenge to be justified…Every mistake you made, me and Paradox had to temper her and made the Council vote against her hateful will…But don't you think that we digress a bit?"

"Isn't it obvious that's what I want? You're predictable for me, Hyperion. I don't want to hear the last part of the analysis you are making of my relationship with the Butterfly family."

"You can't stop it, and this is unfortunately part of my plan, so I must continue…Last in line is Star Butterfly…"

"Do you really have to go there? Can't you just cut to the chase?" Nervousness was radiating from Scott's disembodied voice.

"This is the chase. For reasons I can't quite put my finger on, you cared about her most of all. At first, you treated her with the same apparent coldness you did with her ancestors. But over time, something clicked didn't it? You had become more empathetic, for the first time since your duty's inception. Do you want my impersonal style to expose what you're feeling, or do you wish to do it?"

"Amuse me, Hyperion. Let me see how an omniscient being who has been proven wrong three times in an argument redeem itself when matters of the heart are at play."

"Fair enough. This princess, Star Butterfly, reminds you a lot of Aurora. She is as playful as she was, as curios and funny, and the fact that she has had the same problems as you adds to your connection. Plus, the fact that she is different from all her recent ancestors, that were brainwashed by the, and now let me put it into your words, 'wretched medieval torture room, known as' St. Olga's School for Wayward Princesses, makes her even more like you. A breath of fresh air amongst a plethora of bland people. You've heard her every problem, hoping that she will never find your weak side, you helped her, hoping she will never help you back. When she read your diary, you weren't mad because you knew what was coming. The trial was unexpected for you, and you have to admit it. You were upset because you thought that she had read the last part of your opinion on her…You may think, I don't oversee some of your decisions, but I actually enjoy taking a break from time to time and watch you kids. I remember when Marco was about to read Star's part of the diary that revealed her feelings towards him. Don't you enjoy how cyclic and symmetric these things are?"

"You still haven't driven your point across," Scott said, trying to sound coy, whereas if he still had legs, they would be shaking now. For ages he hadn't been so insecure about anything…

"The point is, that you had substituted Aurora for Star, in your heart. Am I correct? Isn't it true that you love Star Butterfly? Isn't it true that after 1400 years you finally let yourself fall in the same net you were caught in the first time we met?"

Scott didn't answer his question. He was truly dumbfounded and left speechless. He had always believed that the council were just a group of emotionless beings, whose linearity was absolute. They were flat characters, never evolving never changing, but they were nothing like the image he had drawn for them. They had feelings, they were insightful, rather than just omniscient. They were almost human after all…Could he blame them?

"Why did you come here, Hyperion?" he asked, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and sorrow. "Did you come to gloat? To boast that you have so much knowledge, that I didn't have a clue of? Why did you feel the need to dig around my history and my feelings? You enjoy seeing the misery that you caused to a now disembodied voice, due to your faulty decisions? You wanted me to be damned to an eternal life of solitude and pain, my last reminder being this conversation?"

"I came to strike you a deal, Saturn."

"Why do I have the feeling that you are going to screw things over more than you already did?"

"Perhaps I will. But you will set them right again. I will give you back your life, your existence will be restored. You will be a force of good as you've always wanted to be. You will keep your powers, all of them, your immortality will not be restored as you wished. You will be free from your duty, and will not respond to us anymore. You will be 'sacked', so to speak and you will live life as you see it fit…"

"What's the catch?" Scott asked tired, knowing full well the downside of Hyperion's offer was going to be enormous.

"I can't just let you, an extremely powerful power of good, go free in a world where good is already overpowered. I must even the scales, therefore an equally powerful evil being must be released. Remember that when we first analyzed you, we had to remove something from you, right? Since humans have a never-ending desire for power, that drives them insane and makes them hunger for more…we had to take that part out of you, or else you wouldn't be able to be controlled…Little did we know then…"

"You want to release the evil side of me?"

"Precisely. Do we have a deal or not? I should also tell you, that should you not accept, you will be spending the rest of eternity imprisoned here."

"I should be a fool, not to accept, right?"

And as those words left his mind, his human body was forming before his eyes…He could see his hands, his legs and his senses were returned to him. Now he could express his grief with his face as well, rather than just his voice. Fixing the collar of his coat, he looked up, trying to visualize Hyperion.

"Anything else to keep in mind?"

"Actually yes. It's been about a month since you left Mewni and got locked up in here. This leaves you with 26 days until Toffee attacks, and an undetermined amount of time, until your evil self will come looking for you as well."

"That's it?"

"Nothing else has changed, apart from the aforementioned amount of time passing."

That's all Scott had to hear. He opened a portal, but before stepping in, he turned around and looked up once again.

"One more question, since this might be the last time we see each other, Hyperion…Why did you name me Saturn?"

"We gave new names to all of our fighters. You were no exception."

"But why Saturn?"

"Saturn is the planet in your solar system with the most moons orbiting around it. You'll figure it out, from here."

And with this last bit of information, Scott bid farewell to this part of his life. He forever left the realm of these ascended beings to return to Earth…He had to do something first of all. He spawned on a remote hill, four eroded stones casting a long shadow as the sun was setting. They bore markings on them, but the words were now unintelligible. A few letters were still readable, though, but Scott didn't need them to know where he was.

He bowed down towards the last grave and a black rose appeared in his right hand. He left it on the soft soil and then got up.

"I'm sorry for not being there…"


	16. Innocence and Desolation

"Okay…so what do we do from here?" Star asked Marco, as they were staying atop of a former castle wall, gazing at the flaming bursts of the setting sun.

"Come to think of it, I didn't really think it through, when I came here. I kinda just went to the flow, you know…the Marco way," he answered trying to sound cool, but it came out pretty coy.

"Yeah, sure, sure, sure, as if I didn't know you," she said smiling, touching his hand. Initially he recoiled, but after the instinct faded, he just gave in.

"Didn't Scott send you here, or whatever?"

"Busted. But still, we can't stay here, I mean, this place is a total mess, what happened here?"

"Ummm, nothing really…"

"Star, you're saying this as if I didn't know you either…"

"Well…I was snooping around in Scott's room, when I found this thing," she said as she got the painting out from her little bag. "And it had some sort of protection on it, it spawned some sort of tiny beasts that grew stronger every time I hit them with magic, so I had to take matters in my own hands and I bashed their skulls in with my axe, and it was all fine and now here we are, h-hey Marco!" she said hastily in one breath, hoping that Marco didn't really pay attention.

"Come on, Star…Didn't it have any sort of warning on it?"

"Well…,' she said in a drifty tone.

"Aham, I see…"

"Hey, you know how it is with this guy, never know when he's really serious or when he's just messing with you…"

"No, he's actually quite frank, most of the time. You should've known not to go through his stuff, 'cause he's Scott and all. Still, let's see if it was worth it," he said unrolling the worn out scroll. At first, his face was filled with awe. He had been to museums before, but never has he seen such a beautiful work of art. The amount of detail, each one of the queens had, the incredibly diverse background…it was just amazing. Star was in the center of the picture, oddly enough, because, as worn out as the paper was, you'd think that was just an old thing he started centuries ago, and he just added each queen as time passed by, but however…the center of attention was Star. That was something to ponder about.

"Welp, it's a nice painting, but still, did you need to have your entire castle destroyed for it?"

"Totally…I mean…do you see the first one in the line?"

"Yeah, the brown haired girl, with hazel eyes, what's the matter with her?"

"I've never seen her everywhere in my documented history, and all the other people in here are my ancestors…apart from your cute red hoodie right here," she said pointing to the top of the picture. "Point is, this got me thinking…this girl right here was Scott's girlfriend in the past, like some thousands of years ago, and she stays right in front of everyone else…"

"You think that…she is some great-great-great grandmother of yours?"

"Well, yeah…And not only that, but I believe that Scott is…pretty much one of my forefathers…"

"I think you're going pretty far there…He said himself, he doesn't age and he is clearly our age…I don't think we gotta go into any more details," Marco said, blushing embarrassed.

"True… Now back on track. Where do we go from now?"

"Well, I think the safest place right now, would be your parents' palace…So…should we go?"

"I guess you're right, Marco, as always," Star mumbled apparently bored and condescending, but with a quirky smile crossing her face.

"Ok then," Marco said, putting his helmet on and grabbing his scissors. "Set course for the Royal Palace!"

Star didn't say anything. She just fell behind the brave knight in shiny armor who was boldly leading the way. They passed through the barrier Scott had made, and only then she started deliberately slowing down, in order to grab Marco's attention. He was walking with exaggerated movements in front of her, trying to amuse her in any way possible, to get her mind off the situation at hand. Marco knew that his now-girlfriend, was pretty absent-minded, therefore she may've been pretty unaware of the situation at hand. She seemed pretty ok with her new home being destroyed and with them going on a dangerous path in order to go back to her less safe home. This put her in clear and imminent danger, but she didn't need to know any of that at the moment. He had noticed that she had changed…a lot. Even though, she retained most of her playful attitude and carefree temperament, but she didn't have the same joy in her eyes that he grew accustomed to. Her blue gems were filled with an unspoken sadness. He could see her gazing in the distance, with grief all over her face, but the second she caught his glance, she would smile, sincerely so. He was happy that his presence had this beneficial effect on her, but this all seemed…made up and fake. She was…different, yet the joyful girl he had fallen for was still there, albeit seeming trapped under a sea of anguish.

"Ummm, Marco," she said chuckling, having her scissors in hand. "Don't you think it would be faster, if we used the dimensional scissors?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, of course," he replied caught off guard by her ingenuity. She opened a portal, through which they both stepped through, only to appear in the middle of the throne room. The Queen was quietly drinking a cup of tea, looking unfazed at the portal in the middle of the chamber, only to spit her drink out, when she saw who came in.

"Star? Why are you here?"

"Buckle up, mom…We've got a lot of catching up to do…"

For the next two hours, Star and Marco explained everything they understood happened with their friend, and, judging by her mom's look…she wasn't pleased by it. She didn't quite seem to care much for their friend's untimely and mysterious death, who was attributed to some higher beings than the highest they had in their then-known world, but she was visibly infuriated of what happened to her daughter, because of him.

"So…this is all that happened, right?" The Queen got up from her throne, only to go to a nearby window and contemplate her kingdom, pensively.

"Yep…all in all."

"This worsens everything to an impossible degree…Not only, did the most powerful of us all leave us in our time of greatest need, but he didn't even fulfill his single duty, that of training and protecting you. How…predictable."

"What do you mean?" Star asked, surprised by her mother's reaction. Queen Moon, didn't seem to have heard her.

"I should've thought twice before leaving this man do this, but I believe that my rash decisions were justified given the circumstances…I ought to have made a back-up plan, but now…here we sit, unprepared for the great battle that is about to come."

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"Star, didn't he tell you?"

"Tell me what? What got into you?"

"Toffee will return, according to your late friend, in three days from now. Since I hadn't heard from neither of you in a while, I've decided that it was best to take matters into my own hands."

"You've totally lost me at this point," Star said, losing interest in what her mother was saying.

"Then, let me find you, Star. Toffee will come marching towards your location, the second that wretched Dark Night, your friend also told us about will fall upon us. That was a cleverly worded definition for what is nothing more than a lunar eclipse…And judging by the fact that the last time such a natural phenomenon occurred was during…Eclipsa's rule, we can tell that evil thrives in such condition. That evil Sartorian had surely gathered himself an army. He will come to storm our castle and take his finger back..."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Marco interrupted the Queen's speech. "All this for a finger? FOR A FINGER? I had trained with Hekapoo for a month, Star left Earth and this guy rose an army only to get his finger back?"

"Marco…you don't understand. When I was in the prime of my power, I had to resort to my darkest and most powerful spell to defeat him…It was said that if one of his kind had any of its parts missing, his strength would be greatly impaired…but only for a matter of seconds, before he would've grown it back. Therefore, I had to inhibit his inherent ability using…black…magic. I did wrong, but it was for the greater good of the kingdom, so it had to be done. Anyway…once Toffee is all patched up, his power will revert back to its full potential…which is immense at the moment. Therefore, under no circumstances we can let him be complete again. Do you have the finger?"

"Yeah…about that…I think, my wand has it inside it…I think I might have removed it from it at some point, when my wand was going all craaaazy, but it might have been all symbolic and stuff like that…"

"Of course…This is why Toffee was so set on you destroying your wand…It kept the memento of my victory over it, inside…If we lose our most precious possession, now, Star…We are done for."

An eerie silence settled across the room. Nobody could break it at the moment. Star was the main candidate, but realization had finally caught up to her. It was only now that she saw the consequences of her reckless actions. If only she didn't involuntarily kill her friend, maybe things would've been brighter than the way her mother portrayed her. For sure, Scott had told her time and time again that the fight between them was going to be extremely difficult and harsh… but still, having him there to support her in everything she did. Be it wrong, or right, he would've scolded her or praised her like a true friend, but now, without his voice of reason, she was starting to lose hope. The Queen provided them with an extremely cruel truth, lacking an extremely important sugar-coating, in this situation, at least. And even though, he more or less would've said the exact same thing, the way he did it was severely different. They needed that extra glimmer of hope he'd bring to the table, not to mention the added power he had. Now all they had left was an uneasy calm, the silence before the storm…

"So, what are we waiting for?"

"I am glad you have asked that, Marco," the Queen turned around, her usual monotony returning to her face. "For the moment, I am waiting for Omnitraxus to report to me, as I made him spy on Toffee. He rarely succeeds, because the monster has shielded himself from his gaze, but from the moments he managed to peek through, we had gathered the following information." The Queen grabbed a list and started reading it aloud, sitting on her throne. After she cleared her throat she commenced her lecture, as if she was proclaiming the new laws of the land.

1\. Toffee will fight mostly accompanied by the monsters inhabiting the outmost corners of Mewni.

2\. Toffee has the help of spiders, rats, vultures, wolves and bears from all over the kingdom.

3\. His power has not increased ever since our last encounter with him.

4\. His army comprises a total of twenty thousand souls, mostly animalistic.

5\. Toffee has full control over his entire army, managing to guide them in extremely organized formations and attack strategies."

"That's it?" Marco said. "And what do we have?"

"So far, I have enlisted the aid of our entire family, who unfortunately possesses no magical powers, the Pixie kingdom, whose frailness is only complimented by their combined power and the Pony Head kingdom. However, we are outnumbered twenty to one…"

"But we have something he hasn't got," Marco uttered, obviously preparing to bravely make a statement, but he patiently waited for the Queen to ask him…Since she wasn't moving a muscle, he continued either way. "We've got Hekapoo, Rhombulus, Omnitraxus, your Highness, Star…even myself."

"I don't see your point."

"We've got champions. We've got heroes that are capable of taking on multiple enemies at once. We can decimate his army, with the aid of our friends and allies, leaving Toffee to face us all by himself…"

"You don't know much about the art of war, Marco, do you?"

"I believe I do, Queen. Have you devised a plan yet?"

"We actually have," the Queen answered, waving her arms, using her powers to reveal an immense map of the castle and its surroundings. It was an essential general's map, portraying the two colliding armies with its important members, pinpointed on the map.

"As you can see, Star is here, safely placed at the shelter of our Castle that we will be protecting from all sides just to be sure. Our plan, will be only to defend ourselves in the proximity of our heavily reinforced castle. Hekapoo and Rhombulus will aid at the gates, holding off our enemies for as long as possible, thinning the enemy lines as they try to advance. Omnitraxus would've been the last resort, should Toffee breach our lines, but since you decided to join, Marco, you will be taking his place, while he will help me guard the castle. I hope that it is clear we will have a three layered defense, where the five of us are the important rooks, while the rest are just pawns."

"Wait, so I don't fight? At all?"

"It is too dangerous for you to even stay in here, Star, let alone fight Toffee up-front…I am sorry, Star, but you're going to have to sit this one out…"

"No, she won't," a tired old voice mumbled, one that they haven't heard in a long time. Looking at the window, they saw the small silhouette of Glossaryck…He was the Ex-Machina they needed at this moment, appearing at God's will. Such a serendipitous appearance was bound to be received with shock and awe, apart from the obvious happiness and joy.

"G-Glossaryck? Is that really you?"

"No, it's my shadow, that appeared when you needed it most," the little old man answered Star's surprised question, in his usual sarcastic tone.

"Where is your book, Glossaryck?" Moon asked, knowing the binds he was tied to his permanent home.

"Oh, that. Right, right, right," he answered seemingly thinking about it. His eyes cleared as he looked at them and said with complete relaxation: "Toffee was nice enough to free me from it."

"So, then, why didn't you come to us earlier? It's been months!" Star asked annoyed at his blatantly innocent answer. She was mad at him, mostly because of his strange attitude, not because he hadn't showed up when they really needed him…

"Oh, I vacationed for a while on the Orc Plains, then I believe I had visited the Pixie Mines," he said taking out an album of photos from his sleeve, with pictures of his dastardly adventures. "Then, I believe I visited the farthest corners of my favorite dimension, Pudding On Corn Chips dimension."

"YOU WENT ON A VACATION?!" Marco, Star and the Queen vociferated as the little former teacher, calmly presented his multidimensional voyage.

"Well, yes, and I've got to say, it was well worth it. After all, I've been tied to a book for a thousand years now. And I can't use any sort of magic to modify the contents of my home, as a genie can decorate his lamp, so imagine you spending all that time in a crammed place. I believe it was my right to do that," he said crossing his arms and looking away, infuriated all of a sudden. With its petite stature, he was looking like an angry little child, throwing a tantrum.

"But still…Scott did the same thing for more and he didn't take any time off."

"That's what you think? The second the princesses turned twenty one, he would suddenly vanish. From time to time, he offered his support, whenever things took a turn for the worse. He was pretty nice about it, though, I'll give him that. We remained in touch, he would send me notes about his findings, newspapers from different dimensions and really interesting stories from all around the universe. He would be back right before the next princess' birth, but during these little gaps, he had a blast…The best thing about it was that he'd keep me rather entertained…"

"And you know where he is, now?" Marco asked, trying to restrain the old man's blame thrown at their late friend.

"Of course, I do. He died. You know, magical beings such as myself don't just pop into existence, because we want to, but because we were made…True neutral characters such as myself are carefully made by agile hands. I was informed that my 'colleague'," he said making air quotes, "has perished and that I was left alone now in the whole universe as the sole true balance keeper."

"But why did he…" Queen Moon, asked suddenly intrigued by Glossaryck's story. Only now did she understand the true meaning of that 'brat', in her conception, that is. He was meant to be a force of balance, a true neutral, one to bring peace upon the world. However, his untimely death, seemed too…strange.

"Die? I believe it is redundant for Star, because she had been there, at the trial, we held. Surprised you didn't notice me in the audience, but given my small size, I don't judge you. Still, I will explain it to you, Queen. You too, Marco. Scott, as you call him, Saturn as he is referred to in our higher circle, was supposed to be a true neutral, in charge of keeping the forces of good and evil, equal. His alignment, however changed over the time. He was left alone for a while, but because of his most recent decisions, he had been called to the stand. At this time, he was no longer a true neutral…He had turned into a force of neutral good."

"But why this propensity towards balance, when at the moment it's clearly a blatant disequilibrium?"

"Will you let me explain, or not, Queen?"

"My apologies. Go on."

"We can't turn into forces of good, Queen, because this would tilt the balance, forever…Whenever good gets too powerful, evil is soon to follow. Since evil usually has this native affinity towards keeping their advantages, if we don't keep everything stable, we may never be truly able to restore the balance. Those worlds are anarchic, every single attempt of restoring the peace, being deafened in a relative instant and our influence there has been removed…Our messengers of balance sent there have gone rogue, becoming chaotic evil beings. Should they ever grow more in number, they might overthrow our entire organization. And what appeared to be good at the moment, will turn into nothing but desolation. Do you understand now?"

Glossaryck was extremely calm about every single detail he unveiled to his awed audience. It might be his nature or just his personality, but it was extremely unsettling for all of them, especially for Star, who was now lost in thought…Did this mean that she was not to blame…for his death? That her reckless actions didn't actually caused this, but rather his own ruthlessness? She wanted to ask Glossaryck, but as if he read her mind, he continued.

"Scott had been charged with tilting the balance, but since the Council knew about the arguments he wanted to bring into discussion, he was manipulated into believing that Star Butterfly was to blame, for reading his diary…That was just a pretext used by the affectionate leader, in order for your friend to let his guard down and be easier to be dealt with… Even though, he had an enormous sympathy for him, he was a man of law. He couldn't let any mistake be unpunished…"

"But why did he become what he was?"

"I can't tell you that…Star. Even though, I am blatantly spewing information, I still have my limits and my rules…"

"Ow…" she sighed disdained. This determined her to leave the room, followed by Marco. The two shared a feeling, that of tiredness. They were both fed up with all this…so much stress, so much mystery, so many questions left unanswered. Star couldn't wait to be done with all this, regardless of the outcome of their war. She just wanted a place to reflect on all, but mostly to relax…to free herself from all the stress everyone was exposed to.

The night settled in, so the best place she was mesmerized by ever since she was a small child, was the rooftop, on top of the main tower of her palace. She laid on her back, with a troubled frown on her face…Marco followed her, silently lying next to her. At first they didn't say anything to each other, but Star got up all of a sudden.

"Why do you think this is happening, Marco…?"

"I don't know Star…I really don't know. I wish I did, but I can't…"

"Me neither, Marco…" she replied to him, letting her head fall on his shoulder. They were left speechless. Marco's hazel remorseful eyes, met her blue melancholic gaze. It's said that the eyes are the gateway to your soul…This is why they could understand each other only by exchanging concerned looks. The young couple hugged, forming one unity…they were so little and small in the game that the universe was forcing them to play, and the only reason they didn't break down, was because of their splendid love.

Downstairs, Glossaryck was still spitting out exposition to the extremely curios Queen.

"But why, you who have blatantly helped us for generations, didn't get any grief from your Council?"

"We both had contracts, Queen. I was bound to my book; whoever possessed it had me in their control. I was and still am a neutral, and my help towards you, is solely because evil is greatly outweighing you at the moment. The second Ludo took hold of the spell book, I had to turn my back on you and Star. Scott's contract wasn't towards an inanimate object…It was the first time one of us was bound to live beings. This made his job and duty all the much harder. Stoically he followed it, but with time, his human nature prevailed…"

"What do you mean?"

"This is the last thing I can say to you, Queen, and I am glad you've made it worth. Humans are prone to emotions, we aren't allowed, nor made to have. Love, hatred, compassion, are things we are not strange of, but we know of them only second hand…With this amount of foreshadowing, do you need anything else to get my point? You're a smart, insightful person, so I believe not…"

"I do…unfortunately," the Queen said looking at the eponymous celestial entity, shining brighter than usual, with a rather bluish tint…"I am glad you told me all this, Glossaryck. I pity him, now…Being shackled by such an ineffable force is sad…especially when it binds you to impossibility…

A portal opened back at the ruins of the desolate castle. Scott exited it, but as soon as he set foot on the ground, he fell to his knees, in despair. He saw the fire raging softly in the fallen tower that once was his room…He saw the two gaping holes in the ground, letting out the warm glow of the magma chamber beneath…He saw the shredded labyrinth, the destroyed stables, the broken down walls of the palace he had created… He saw the princess' diadem, lying on the ground, missing a part of its jewels. It was crushed by an immense force…

There was nothing left to say now…he gave up…No point in contemplating the vicissitudes of fate that got him to this state. His mind drew a blank. It was the last stand, separating his sanity from his insanity…Having everything he had worked for being laid to waste…at the hands of his own hubris, nonetheless…it drove him mad. He knew what he had to do now…He opened a portal, giving out a wicked green glow…He passed through it with no remorse whatsoever. As the energy dissipated into thin air, it left a burning mark on the grass below.


	17. Wars

The sun has set and the moon had risen to her rightful place on the sky. On the most auspicious of nights, it had decided that she shouldn't stay for long, but rather she needed to flee…to cowardly disappear and let the nothingness of night take its place. Her pale face was soon engulfed by the almighty darkness…Her corruption had started…Only half of her remained pure, when, going out on the balcony, the Queen had seen the eclipse…

"It's time," she said to the Council inside the palace who were all gathered around a table, on which the battle map has been laid upon. "Everyone knows their position?" They all nodded in agreement.

"I trust that you will lead us in battle, milady," Glossaryck said, taking a bow before her.

"And I hope that you will find it in yourself to help us, should the opportunity arise," Moon replied

"I can't promise you anything, Moon…"

"This is not the time for this kind of nonsense," the Queen abruptly replied.

"Yes it is. I don't want you to view me as the bad guy, just because I didn't help you. I have my duty to perform, to those who have appointed me. I can't forget that, just because we are on friendly terms, Moon. I can only act to preserve the balance, now that I am unbound from the book. Therefore, I would like you all, actually to hear this," he said turning to face them all, excluding Star and Marco who weren't there, for some reason. "I can't attack Toffee, under any circumstance and I can't do anything, unless I feel that the battle will take a turn for the worst, resulting in an imbalance. I may have already stepped outside my limits, therefore I will tread carefully. Is that clear for you all?"

"Crystal clear," Rhombulus answered, taking an imposing stance.

"Great then, "the Queen said looking mildly disappointed. "Now that we are all aware of the circumstances and our own duties, let's get to it," she continued tying her hair in a braided ponytail, putting her diadem back on. Without another word, she flew out the window in her Mewberty form, landing in front of the main gate. Hekapoo opened a portal, and Omnitraxus Prime vanished in thin air, only to appear right beside moon, while Rhombulus just jumped out through the ceiling, dissolving in the depth of the night. Glossaryck contemplated the soon to be battlefield, sighing heavily. He then turned around looking for the two kids. He didn't quite know where to find them, but an educated guess was trying their room. As the tiny old man was about to enter through the keyhole behind which, he had spotted the princess' blond hair, he was struck by an uneasy feeling…There was a disturbance in the magic flowing throughout the universe, one greater than what Toffee had already caused. The pain he was feeling was giving him an obvious signal that the problem had to be investigated right away. Without thinking whether or not it was the best decision to leave the forces of good to face those of evil unsupervised, he blasted off. He seemed like an endless lightning coursing through the starry night. His cosmic passage was not ignored by the Magic High Commission…They looked at him with a mix of anger and despair.

"Why is he leaving? WHY IS HE LEAVING!?" Rhombulus angrily asked from his distant hiding spot, in the palace's corn fields.

"Let him be, Rhombulus. He wasn't going to be of much help anyway," the Queen sighed dismayed.

"Yeah, he was gonna," Hekapoo said in her usual sarcastic tone.

"No he wasn't," she snapped back at her. "You heard him as well as I did. We have no guarantee that he would've aided us, and at this point I'd rather not take anything for granted."

An awkward and eerie silence settled after the Queen's thunderous voice broke their calm. She swiftly returned to her place on the chess board, waiting for Toffee's army to appear. She had no idea how well she would be able to command her army. She now shared a trait with her daughter, one that she hoped was never going to…She was uncertain, going in with an apparently carefully devised plan, but with so many variables inbound, there was only a slight chance that it would all go according to their little scheme.

Even though, she had fought Toffee twice now, he was still a mystery for her. He was an elusive brawler, relying on both brain and brawn to succeed. His knowledge of magic was only limited by his body…Magic didn't flow naturally through the Sartorians' veins, yet he had an innate ability to control it…This was the reason why he was so feared, why he was so powerful…was this. And even though, they knew nothing of his ancestry, they had a strong hunch, this was the hand of a certain evil queen, who has chosen to forget their hatred towards monsters…

The earth started shaking, all of a sudden…The screeches of unknown beasts, filled the knights' hearts with fears…Horror was slowly sneaking its way into the lines of soldiers, who were stoically waiting…Once the enemy showed its face to them, their terror would then become, the known. The earthshaking shrieks grew louder and louder, signaling the imminent clash of forces…Good and evil would finally battle, only one being allowed to reign supreme over the other…

The plethora of vermin slowly darkened the lush grass, corrupting its life-giving color with their unending filth. Behind the swarm of disgusting rodents, tall, bulky monsters were slowly marching, their steps crushing the ground beneath them…Toffee himself was nowhere to be seen, but its presence was felt throughout both armies' hearts, striking fear in the Queen's army and blessing with courage his soldiers…

Moon got in front of her knights, having Hekapoo and Omnitraxus by her side, as her sidekicks. She knew that in face of danger, the souls of her men were weakened, their will broken…With her steadfast presence, and her carefully chosen words, she tried to give an example.

"My men," she started, sadness present in her voice. "I know, the situation seems dire, and that the enemy greatly outnumbers us. I know that you are afraid of the unknown before us, not having fought a battle for ages and ages. I know that the vows you took are just formal, and few, if none, actually believed in them… But, here I stay in front of you, tonight, in the face of certain defeat, leading you…Because I have trust in you. I have trust that we can repeat history, I have my hopes up that we can reenact the events of our independence day…Today, we fight, so that we cannot succumb to the wicked corruption of the evil, threatening to engulf us in its devious flame. We will rise against all odds! We will drive the malevolent away, making them cower as our mighty force overpowers them! The clash is imminent, my fellow citizens, and we will show, that, against all odds, the Butterfly Kingdom can and will prevail!"

Her speech carried both wisdom and encouragement, although, it seemed to be lacking…substance. However, as it is, it made her point across and served its purpose. She was greeted with a confident war cry, as her soldiers, charged forward to battle the impure forces of evil. Moon, noticed that the general she had appointed, an old man, albeit full of vigor and life as if he were still in his prime, stood still.

"I wanted a word with you, my Queen," he said in his tired, yet forceful voice.

"What is it, Hull," she asked a bit surprised.

"You said that our vows were nothing but words, to us, but they are not, Queen. My men, my friends, stay by their words. We have sworn to protect and serve the crown, and so we will, even in face of the greatest enemy. We do not fear death, should it be the inevitable outcome of our mission. However, you fear it for us. Do not worry for your army, my Queen. We will live, or we will die by you, no matter what. We only need your trust."

And with that, the general mounted his horse and, with incredible speed, caught up with his marching army, leaving Moon meditating. But there was no time for that…She got on her horse as well, joining her soldiers.

The two masses collided, the impact being brutal. The first few from each side, were sent flying back in the heart of their armies. Only the monsters seemed to be fighting the soldiers, but even with that, leaving the animals aside, they were still greatly outnumbered…Moon took note of that, but kept this to herself. There was no point in telling this to her citizens, further undermining their morale, as if it weren't low enough. Her soldiers were, having to fight over the endless swarm of rats, underneath them, on uneven and shaky ground, whereas the monsters were more than happy of battling on top of known land…

However, despite the obvious advantage, the Queen was blasting monsters off with the dozens. She didn't do it alone, though. Her army was organized and powerful and the monsters were chaotic. Hekapoo and she managed to decimate legions and legions of evildoers, but they never seemed to stop coming. The two weren't getting tired, but, they shared a feeling. They knew there was something wrong. Mewni's men were crushing their enemies…It seemed like they were playing straight into his hands…

Rhombulus was still camping in the forest, waiting for him to be needed. He knew what his role was, but his childlike mind couldn't help but get bored of just standing by, especially when there was a raging battle right near him…He was right about to leave his place, when he saw the excitement coming to him...The simple-minded "muscle" of the Magic High Commission, smiled in himself as he saw a part of Toffee's army marching towards him. The spiders, wolves and bears were on the prowl, making a run for the kingdom. They were not going to get past Rhombulus. They were expected… Raising his snake arms, he shot two blasts that 'ignited' the magic that settled in the woods. The day before, he was busy preparing a prison for anyone who would've passed through his area, filling it with raw spell energy, only waiting to be triggered…

Two enormous pillars fell from the sky, creating a narrow passage that limited the movements of the beastly army before him. Another one blocked their retreat soon after, restricting their only way out to be towards the waiting Rhombulus. The makeshift walls were unclimbable, even for the little spiders, whose tiny legs, couldn't stick to the polished surface. They were doomed to face Rhombulus, whom, given the opportunity, would stop at nothing to purge the evil in front of him. He was like a fierce lion, stalking his prey, before him, slowly taunting them, causing them to flee towards the back wall, helplessly scratching the indestructible crystal. With a gut-wrenching shout, he jumped towards the wild beasts, commencing the sealing of his fate.

In the meantime, Star and Marco were sitting on top of the largest cupola of the palace, contemplating the raging battle. Marco was instructed not to let her out of the castle, regardless of her pleas and to never leave her side, even if things took a turn for the worse. He was bound to her…She had no duties…Star felt helpless in a battle she had caused, when Ludo stole her spell book. She had to stare at how the members of the Magic High Commission were kicking all sorts of monster butt, and…she wanted a piece of the action too. Even though, she fully understood the risks, she was bored just watching the thrill of the fight, unfolding before her…Hopefully she had Marco to cheer her up… But he wasn't the same that she had fallen for…Despite the fact that he shared her feelings, he seemed distant to her. He was watching with concerned eyes the fierce battle before them.

"You ok, Marco? You seem a bit tense…"

"Something's just not right, Star…I can feel it."

"What do you mean?"

"There is something missing, but I can't quite put my finger on it…"

"Offf…quit worrying your little head and protect me," she sighed, dropping her arms around him, and hugging her boyfriend. He really needed this outlet, because he was stressing himself over nothing…He hugged her back, and the two continued to oversee the battle from above…It was empowering really. They felt as if they were the Queen and King, on the chessboard, waiting for their measly pawns, rooks, bishops and knights to battle, while they were carefully planning their move…

In the meantime, Glossaryck had already travelled to the source of the painful disturbance he felt…It was atop the Cloud Kingdom, on a remote peak that no one has ever climbed before, despite the innate ability of said kingdom's inhabitants to fly. He wasn't shocked to see an immense portal opened, glowing with an emerald light…He floated closer to it, trying to touch it, but the second his blue hand reached out to the jade gateway, it burned his skin, causing his hand to fall off. He regenerated it immediately, keeping a safe distance.

"How quaint," he quietly said to himself, as he examined the strange portal, he soon realized what and, most importantly, who caused this drain…The runes, surrounding it were not Mewnian, not from the Underworld and certainly not from this universe…He could read them, but no one else could…except for…

Another portal appeared behind him and Scott appeared from it. He seemed…different. His once determined gaze was now empty. He saw the old man, but looked straight through him, completely ignoring him. Throwing some dust inside, he raised his hands and conjured a book before him. He started chanting in an unknown dialect, that shouldn't be heard by mortals anywhere.

Only now, Glossaryck was in awe. He couldn't wrap his mind around why he was trying to evade from this world and go to another…He didn't understand why his pure, blue magic has turned into the corrupted flame of the fallen. For the first time his omniscience found its bounds.

"Scott?" he uttered, but Scott had ignored him, altogether. Glossaryck, then tried to shake him, but he seemed to be hypnotized… so caught into his spellcasting that he ignored everything around him. Glossaryck had to stop him, as soon as possible or else he would remain out of time, but he didn't want to hurt him either… He opened his pupil, swallowing Scott.

The boy woke up in an unknown dark room, the only light source available, being from the little light above him. He was sitting down, a dark, mahogany table laid before him. On top of it, the old man was glaring at him, anger and dismay mixing on his master's expression…

"Why are you running?" Glossaryck asked on a scolding tone.

"I am free, Glossaryck…I can go outside this wretched realm and finally take a vacation in the place I will finally be complete!" he said, laughing maniacally.

"What are you talking about?" he asked confused on the one hand and scared on the other hand…

"Don't you see?" Scott asked, madness visible in his crazed eyes. "You know my story don't you?"

"No, I don't…What happened to you, child?"

"Oh, nothing…I just realized that my entire existence is nothing but a fraud…That I was appointed by the ones who swore to keep balance, whilst providing the forces of disequilibrium with the power they need to tilt the scales in their favor. I just realized that I fought for a seamless purpose, Glossaryck. That my actions are never leading to anything else, but imbalance…"

"Yeah…so?"

"So? I've been called out for my acts, and you were there, so I mustn't be telling you any of that…But then, while imprisoned in a timeless void, I had to relinquish my apparent state of neutrality and embrace the fact that I was in fact, a force of good."

"Again…what are you driving at?"

Scott had angrily and madly paced across the empty room, looking up, gesticulating, complementing his insanity with powerful, reckless and senseless gestures.

"I am driving at, that as a relentless force of good, as I am, as I was deemed and doomed to be, I had left the pride of what I'd sworn to protect go to waste. I had let the ones I truly cared about, die in an agonizing amount of pain. I returned to where I previously left Star, only to find the place ransacked and in ruins…I decided in that moment…That life was not meant to be lived like that."

"Don't tell me…"

"PRECISELY!" he yelled, the light fixture above shaking. "I have gotten the ones I had to protect killed, due to my own hubris. My pride made me guard everything against any sort of evil. My uncertainties lead me to seal everything away! TO NEVER LET CHANCE GET THE BEST OF ME! And look where it all brought us, Glossaryck. I am staying here in your pupil, where I am crying over my mistakes…While I am battling my inner demons, I am grieving over the death of the princess at the hands of the beasts I, myself summoned to protect my belongings…I couldn't let go of my fears and let them get the best of me…I shouldn't have done anything like that, but the last Butterflies just destroyed me, old man…I had been oscillating between righteousness and corruption and now…" he interrupted himself to cast an emerald flame out of his hand…"Now, it got the best of me…I had embarked on the path of no return, Glossaryck, and I can't come back now…Question is," Scott said, clapping his hands, causing the black walls of the room to fall down, transporting them back where they came from, "will you stay in the way of my decisions? Or will you let me go?"

"I cannot let you go, Scott, because for the time, being…I need your help."

"You never needed my help, before, Glossaryck. You were bound to your book, I was bound to the Butterfly family. Our wills didn't intertwine at all. What makes you think they will now?"

"The fact that, as you said, I WAS bound to my book. Now, I regained my freedom and my duty has become the one we shared for millennia."

"Get to the point," Scott said intrigued, yet the flame of madness still rested in his green eyes.

"Well, to turn your world upside-down…Star is alive, and currently the army of Mewni is battling that of Toffee in the vicinity of the Butterfly castle."

"I don't believe you," Scott said, his sane mind struggling to tell him that Glossaryck was unable to lie, but it was but a mere echo in the darkness hollow that was his consciousness.

"Here," Glossaryck answered conjuring a portal, allowing him to see Star and Marco, hugging while watching the battle beneath. A small rat was in the picture, up on his hind paws, its snout wide open. He started shrieking loud enough to cause the two teenagers to cover their ears in pain, as Star blasted him off…

A dark silhouette contoured in the sky, over the black moon…Omnitraxus appeared before Star and Marco, telling them something inaudible for Scott, who could only see, not hear anything…The skull of one of the Magic High Commission's founders fell lifelessly to the ground, as Toffee appeared behind them…Marco already unsheathed his scissors and Star took shelter behind the tip of the cupola…It was at this time that Glossaryck closed the portal.

Scott was left speechless…He fell to the ground, dismayed, clenching his fists over his face…Suddenly he started laughing, looking at the sky, with a maniacal grin carved on his face…

"Ah, the irony…I have deluded myself into believing an ultimate omen of this universe could be forgotten…But, alas, the depth of my mind is as shallow as a pond…How stupid of me...to fall in the net of an impossibility…To go to the lengths of letting such purity infest my filthy muck, I call my heart."

"I see…" Glossaryck nodded, finally understanding the cause of Scott's madness.

"You do, don't you?" Scott said, getting abruptly serious. "Then, please if you may…tell me why should I help you? What I feel is the pain of an age long agony, sealed for millennia, only to be grazed away every time… How can I help you, when my humanity has been denied for my entire life, only to flood me with the most putrid of its symbols?"

"Because…"

"BECAUSE NOTHING!" he yelled, again, the ground shaking beneath them.

Glossaryck knew how to reach him…but at the same time didn't know it. He was unsure whether or not he should play the card he had up his sleeve. However…for what it was worth, he had nothing to lose…

"Because you have a chance, Scott…You have a choice to either flee from your mistakes, to die off in a desolate world filled with the void that encompasses you, filled with the madness that you have birthed…Or you can face them and repent for them. You can clean your slate, once and for all, with a simple act…A kindhearted, pure act that is bound to reach deep down in your depraved heart and cleanse it of its muck. You can choose…" and Glossaryck stopped short, only to witness Scott's reaction. The boy's gaze lost its insanity, only to gain anger…But behind the shield of wrath, Glossaryck saw a glimmer of sorrow and remorse, so he continued.

"You can choose to act for…or against…the person you love, and change her fate…And you must choose now."

Time froze in Scott's mind. He saw himself in his many faces, he passed through the ages…He saw the blue face of sadness, the green face of envy, the red face of wrath, the yellow face of fear, the black face of death…But on the throne of his mind, in his empty aula where the voices of his past resonated…lied the white face of purity…With a gesture, he conjured himself in his world and exiled the many sounds of evil he was hearing, leaving the clear voice of his humanity to speak for himself. His calm gaze returned, his emerald eyes, glimmering with the hope he seemed to have lost…He didn't say anything to Glossaryck. In an instant he rose to the sky, propelling himself in the air at blinding speed…he was a cobalt thunder crossing the black sky...

Toffee had defeated his foes…Hekapoo, Omnitraxus, Rhombulus were lying lifeless on the ground, the powers they had regained from an unfortunate event, being drained away by the demon. Queen Moon had managed to delay her inevitable end…but she fell for the same fate…Now between the vile evil and the pure good…there was Marco…He was the only barrier left standing between Star and Toffee. The second he tried to attack him, the demon blasted him thorough the floor, causing all of them to fall in the throne room. Lekmet's horn spilled his ashes all over the ground… Marco was left unconscious in a corner and Star was trapped behind her mother's last symbol of power…Toffee had prepared a blast and fired it at her… Star knew she couldn't do anything about it…She closed her eyes, a tear sliding off. Her demise was imminent, and so the last force of good left standing was going to fall…

The blast hit, but it didn't hit her. Crashing through the wall, Scott got in, just in time to deflect it, with his arcane shield.

"I thought you'd never show up, Saturn," Toffee hissed sarcastically.

"We shared the same thought, then," Scott answered him, firing a magic missile at him.

But, Toffee didn't want to play games anymore. He knew what the boy had become. No longer a neutral force, like his friend, Glossaryck, he wasn't useful to him…He stopped his projectile with his bare hands, then, blinked to him, only to impale him with it…Scott, fell to the ground, covered by the rubble of the still crumbling ceiling.

Star was already crying…The death of Marco…The death of her mother…But now, that she was filled with an instantaneous joy, when she saw Scott, bravely defy death in order to save her, only for him to die soon after…She was destroyed, crushed. Her sobs and cries tear through the lugubrious silence of night, making the monster in front of her rejoice…With a merciless grin, he charged and fired another blast…

(Just a quick auctorial note, for my fellow readers…I have inserted some nods in the story, that have a rather interesting connotation…I hope you can see and, more importantly, understand them all.)


	18. An Old End

Time has slowed down around them, to a near standstill...This was Scott's working...He had designed fail-safes over fail-safes and this was one of them. He could see the world around him, move in slow motion, but he himself was completely immobilized, partly by the enormous pile of rubble on top of him and partly because the nature of his spell…He only crippled his bodily functions, so that he was able to still think, but his blood wouldn't spill. With his sharp mind, he had expanded his time bubble, in order for it to comprise Star as well.

"Star?"

"W-What? What's going on? Where are you? Why can't I move?" she hastily started asking questions, but Scott didn't have time for that…

"You're in a time bubble and you can't move because I had completely halted your body, leaving only your mind, wide awake…"

"Why?"

"Because, I am dying, Star…And I wanted that at least, in my last moments, I'd be honest…I designed this spell about a millennium ago. It was my first try at manipulating time, after Glossaryck taught me that. It was just his way of showing his appreciation after I had shown him how to manipulate space…"

"Wait, what? Hold on! You're dying?"

"Yeah…Didn't you see me getting impaled by my own arcane missile? I am bleeding profusely…and I got about twenty minutes, before this bubble we are in pops and that blast, you see over there will hit you, ending your existence as well… The second this spell wears off, I will die, but hopefully you will dodge the blast, now that I told you this…Now, I am waiting for your questions, Star…Over our time together, I had been nothing but a mystery to you, and I believe you are dying to ask me so many things…And now, since my fate is sealed, I will finally be honest…"

Scott's words were extremely rash and fell like a one-ton-weight over Star's brittle mind. She was speechless for the first seconds, mute in awe, but with a surge of willpower she managed to recollect herself and to start…

"Dude…You just messed my brain…how can you be so calm, when you are dying?"

"It's because this is the death I've been craving for a long time now…"

"What? Why the heck would you want this?"

"I am human, Star…a mortal race…After seeing countless people I cared for dying before my eyes, while I helplessly defied this natural phenomenon, I started falling in this feeling of depression…But I couldn't ask for my death, I couldn't kill myself…It just had to happen. I am glad it is at the hands of Toffee, an evil force, that I perish and leave this realm…"

"But don't you want to live? Don't you fear death?"

"I will be finally reunited with the ones I lost, Star…Why would I fear what I so desperately want? I do not fear this, but rather, I despise the fact that I leave this world…and leave you behind?"

"But why…? By the way you're speaking of the 'sweet embrace of death'…you seem to not have any sort of affection towards anyone…Why all of a sudden you'll start missing people?"

"Because…and I find it extremely hard to say given the circumstances," Scott said, his eyes wandering towards Marco's unconscious body. Star however, couldn't see this…She was still hiding behind her mother's throne, and she couldn't move…Their voices resonated in each other's heads…

"What circumstances?"

"I see that you and Marco had begun to really share the one-sided love you showed him…"

"What's that got to do with our…"Star interrupted herself, realizing what Scott was driving at." Wait…do you mean?"

"Yes, Star…I do mean that I…love you," he said gulping afterwards, giving away his nervousness.

Star needed some time to process this information, he was so surreptitiously piling up on her, but he had no time, and she knew that…She had to just swallow and continue.

"But why…? Why me? Why out of all the Butterflies you had interacted with, why you chose me?"

"Because, deep down, I am just as you…We share the same uncertainties, but I hide them while you show them. We share the same fears, but again…I hide them and you show them…We are alike in so many ways…and you determined me to finally look at life as a pleasure, rather than as a burden…"

"Then why you did nothing, to show it? Why did you just passively deny it?"

"That's hypocritical coming from you don't you think, given the situation you were in. I knew of the Blood Moon…I knew that for the first and last time, my cold heart was touched by the warmth of such an ineffable feeling, it would be pointless, because it would be against so many laws of the universe…This is why, I was so cold towards you at the beginning, but, as time passed…I got used to it…The pain I had felt for so much time, finally got bearable, just because of you…"

"What laws of the universe? Why did it become bearable?I can't understand anything you're saying…"

"Oh, silly shooting Star," Scott sighed smiling for himself. "Just as absent-minded and delightful as ever. I will miss this the most," he continued coughing up violently. Even though his bodily functions were slowed, his wound was still affecting him. His mind acted up on what his physical body was experiencing…

"You ok?"

"Not quite…I don't have much time left…Laws of the universe, you asked. A being meant to keep the balance of the world, one who lives on a higher plane of existence, can't be bothered to interact in any affectionate way with the lower people he was entrusted with…He must be, but the guardian, emotionless, a cold rock…The Blood Moon creates a contract between two beings, cursing their souls to be bound for all eternity…It cannot be broken by any force on Earth. How can someone not feel an insufferable amount of pain, when between him and his love, lie such impossible to surpass barriers? However, it became bearable, when I saw that we shared this trait as well…We were both trapped in the same war, between what our minds said it was possible, and what our hearts thought we could achieve… It felt heartwarming but heartbreaking at the same time, seeing how we shared this misery…"

"I had no idea you felt this way about me…I have…no words to…" she tried to say something, anything to comfort the person who meant so much for her, who sacrificed so much for her, who was dying for her, before her very eyes, but she was drowning in tears…Sadness and sorrow conflated in her head, rendering her mute. All she could do was sob, her hiccups being caught by Scott's sensitive ears…

"Now, now…there is no reason to get sad…Keep those tears inside, as you are dropping them for a man who is happy for your happiness, who is sad for your anguish and for someone who is glad to pass…"

"But…I don't want you to pass away…You have bombarded me with so many things to think about…that painting, that diary, those visions and now this…Your love was inadvertently following me, and I was blinded by my own pain to see the agony in my close friend…"

"Don't bring this upon yourself, Star," he said in his sweet tone. His words seemed soothing, as if he was reading from an old book. "I am the one to blame for this…for all this. Toffee, your mother, Marco who is struggling there…"

"Marco? Is he gonna be alright?"

Scott didn't answer, but rather she could hear him chuckling maniacally…

"Even now, I can see it…Ironic…"

"What do you see?"

"The influence of the Blood Moon, what else?" It was only now, that Star realized the curse she was upon…Was this the reason of her inner flurry? Was that unbearable omen why her world was starting to break apart? Was her love for Marco just a blind infatuation caused by a force she couldn't understand? She no longer had to wonder…She could ask her omniscient friend, dying before her….

"Is this…Blood Moon thingy, the reason why all this had happened?"

"No…it is not. Although it aided a lot in the reciprocity of it…Your feelings are as pure as fresh fallen snow…The fact that I intervened, however, caused all this ruckus, if I am allowed such colloquialism…" he said, his irony not fading away as he was…

"How did you cause this?"

"It's like in the Ancient Greek tragedies…People try to overcome their puny condition and become godlike…this is called hubris. This can't be allowed by the almighty gods…They strike those who dare deny their nature. This punishment is called hamartia. It's a philosophical law. I tried to overcome my damned nature, but, in doing so, I was undermining the gods, defying their laws…I got punished, and so did those I cared for…My own putrid arrogance was my down fall…"

"So, you are the only one who caused this?"

"Yes…I haven't got much time, Star…Is there anything you want to know?"

As she heard the undeniable truth, her feelings for the dying man changed. She was now oscillating between anger and pity…She was mad because he was the sole reason for the entire universe's downfall…All this time of blaming herself for her mistakes, for her flaws, when he was the one who should've taken the fall…

"I know what you're thinking, Star," he said, coughing violently. "You hate me, right? You had lived through so much pain, condemning yourself for what was going on around you, when I was the culprit…I want you to know something, that you might not want to find out…And this is going to be the last thing I will be able to say," he uttered, his voice fading…"When I first came back from my prison, that place I was exiled to, when you thought I died…and I saw the destroyed castle, I realized something…I realized that everything is passing in this wretched universe, and that nothing lasts forever, but anyone can see this…However, I felt no greater pain, when I thought I had lost you…I decided to finally do what I dreaded for so much…I fled to the most remote place in this dimensions and conjured a portal, with my corrupted magic…a portal that would kill me…Because life wasn't worth living for anymore…My mind was set, I wanted to die no matter what. But then, Glossaryck decided to give my death a purpose…I chose to die for you and for my mistakes…So I can deserve the fate I was craving for…"

"Scott…"

She couldn't say anything else…His lifeless body couldn't continue channeling the time bubble…It collapsed, and Star just had the time to jump away from the wicked blast, Toffee had fired towards her. Star was sent flying across the room, but with a blast from her own wand, she regained her balance midair and bounced back from the wall. Toffee was grinning, while looking at Scott's corpse…He couldn't help but bask in the glory of his impending victory…

"Ah…finally, you have fallen, Saturn…You've been nothing but a relentless thorn in my back all these years…Now, it's finally time to accept your destiny…"

His gloating was interrupted by Star's spellcasting. He was hit by an immensely powerful attack, Star shot out of her wand…Her prized trinket changed shape, though…Her half of the star was glowing red, the tiny wings on the side became black and bat-like, rather than those of a Pegasus…The heart on the top was no more. With a merciless look in her eyes, she fired another blast, sending Toffee through the solid wall of the throne room and into the cornfields. Where he landed, the impact caused a crater to be formed…

Star rushed to Marco, levitating the heavy pile of debris off of him. She slapped him a couple of times and summoned a bucket of water to drop over him. He woke to her smiling face, despite behind a curtain of happiness there lied a backstage of despair and chaos.

"Wha-what happened?" Marco asked surprised, hastily getting up.

Star said nothing, she just pointed at Scott who had his arcane missile still inside of him…Marco couldn't believe his eyes. Scott was still alive…but now he was dead. He tried to catch her gaze, but she was too determined to waste time on meaningless squabbling…She grabbed his hand, and pushed him towards the gaping hole in the wall, pointing at Toffee, who was still recovering from the power of Star's attacks…

He was surprised to see how, despite he had eliminated the most powerful of all beings, the one that was entrusted with the noble task of safekeeping the balance of the universe itself…He still struggled to fight the untrained and reckless princess…Was he wrong? Did he miscalculate anything?

Back in the throne room, Star and Marco were discussing a battle plan.

"So, how do we fight this guy?" Marco asked, separating the blades of his scissors, just like Hekapoo taught him to do.

"I've got a plan…but I am not so sure it will work," she answered looking at her new wand…

"Your wand…what happened?"

Star didn't answer, but rather leaned to his hear to whisper him what they should do. The next second they jumped in the courtyard, ready to confront the evil demon. They didn't wait a single second more…While he was still dizzy from the impact, Marco rushed towards him, his little scissor-daggers drawn out. At blinding speed, he cut open several portals around him, surrounding him with nothing but gates to other dimensions…The boy finished his job by jumping over him by further imprisoning him with one enormous portal above him. Now, wherever he would want to go, he would have blinked to another world, leaving the battlefield…Or so they though at least…

"You think you can create a tomb of portals, so that I can't approach you? You're more foolish than I gave you credit for!" Raising his hand he started draining the energy of the gateway above him, closing it, little by little…But he made a mistake…This wasn't their plan at all.

Unbeknownst of Toffee, Marco had passed through all the portals he had created. This way, wherever he would appear next, he would've let a link to his former location…Every portal he had opened around Toffee was chained to where he had started blinking from…Star and Marco smiled at each other, knowing that the demon fell in their little trap…While Marco was busy, tearing through the fabric of space, Star had channeled her power to conjure an extremely powerful attack…It was a little spell, she had remembered from the time she read Eclipsa's chapter…It was a spell whose description said that it would "make any wound unhealable, every cut unsealable and reopen any scars." Star knew what this was…It was the way Toffee had been defeated before, by her mother's darkest spell.

The attack left her wand, scorching the ground beneath it…Its power was…unbelievable, insidious, to an extent…It was a devious attack, meant to incapacitate your opponent by any means, but the way it was used. It was amazing… Marco was the target of Star's attack, but right before he was about to be hit, he opened a portal in front of him, redirecting the blast to God knows where…But he knew where he was sending it.

At the same time, the lethal ray came out of Toffee's prison walls…He was hit by all of them, causing him to screech in pain…His agony was expressed in an eerie, inhumane howl. His flesh was burning, and he couldn't do anything about it…The portals surrounding him faded away, leaving the flaming demon expose to the duo's unforgiving glances…

"Congratulations…heroes…" he said in-between painful groans. "You have…managed…to… defeat me…in the most…pitiful…way," Toffee continued his condescending plea.

"But we beat you didn't we?" Star joyfully answered, regaining her usual composure she had lost earlier.

"Not…quite…"

"How come? Didn't this spell cripple you before?"

"Pre…cisely…I am weakened…But I am immortal…"

"So what is this supposed to mean?" Star asked the proud demon before her, who, even in the prime of defeat, couldn't withstand the thought of someone being superior to him…

"It means that…I will return…Maybe not in a year…Maybe when you will have died…Maybe when my goals…have already been accomplished…But I will return…"

"What are your goals, Toffee," Star asked half curios, half driving at something much darker.

"I want…justice…I want the monsters…to regain…what is rightfully theirs…I despise you…for driving…my ancestors of…a land that we…peacefully inhabited…We were willing…to share…but you didn't…look past our horrid appearance…You couldn't see past that…we were good…in essence…but years of oppression…turned us…into what we are now…Outcasts…in a world…were good is…evil and evil…is called good…"

"You are evil, Toffee, whatever your intentions are." The voice of Glossaryck interrupted his painful speech. "Whether or not, you have the background to motivate your actions, going to such lengths to achieve a seemingly noble purpose is not an act worthy of the forces of good…You may preach whatever you want, but this doesn't change anything…You are worthy of your fate, Sartorian. Better accept it humbly, and not use the flimsy shield of arrogance to defend yourself…

"Be that as it may…old man…you can't deny…what happened…"

"Neither can you, Toffee…"

Star had her wand raised at the poor unfortunate soul…She was thinking whether or not she should kill him…On the one hand he was the living embodiment of evil…He had stopped at nothing to attain his goals: manipulating, backstabbing even killing…He had done nothing but bring pain and desolation over Mewni, slaying its mightiest defenders and proudest heroes…He had destroyed her world and…she couldn't forgive him for that…She rose her wand, pointing it towards Toffee…The hearts on her cheeks started glowing red…the princess started floating in the air, magic gathering around her…A crimson sphere started gathering before her, attracting little pebbles from the ground. Toffee chuckled maliciously as he saw his demise approaching…He couldn't help but appreciate the Butterflies' power. Defeating him twice, while the least powerful of them, in his wrongful conception, was going to obliterate him…Star was finished, and the immense orb was fired. Toffee's face glowed as his malevolent grin was the last expression he had made. The impact was massive, barely contained by Glossaryck's innate shield…Only ashes remained out of the monster who has left nothing but death and solace behind him…

Star fell to the ground, exhausted, drained both physically and mentally…She had lost Scott twice in three months, both times believing that he was gone for good. However, the first time he still lived on through his notes…he seemed alive in her mind and heart. Before she didn't see his lifeless husk serving as an uncanny reminder of his death…He was in the middle of a circle of a demised circle, comprised of magical beings…Lekmet's ashes were scattered all over them…

The last three people left standing were now crawling over the corpses of soldiers and monsters alike. They formed the ground, they were uneasily walking over. They climbed the remains of the stairs and stopped at the top of the main cupola, in the throne room…Marco and Star were visibly grieving over the loss of so many closed ones, while Glossaryck was trying his best to appear emotionless…Even he was moved by the sorrow flooding the atmosphere. They walked over to Scott's body, Glossaryck removing the arcane missile, impaling Scott's heart to the ground. No blood was spilled from his gaping wound…Star couldn't bear seeing him like that. She was crying outside, leaning on the balcony while Marco and Glossaryck were deciding what to do… Glossaryck already created 4 coffins for the bodies of the Magic High Commission and the fallen keeper of balance. He was levitating their corpses inside, when a strange enormous portal opened right beside him. A tall, bearded man got out from it. Glossaryck recognized him, and so would Star should she have looked…

"I believe you are going to take him away, right?"

"His acts have though us a lot, Glossaryck. It is only fit that we repay him with this honor…"

"You're going to treat him as you did with all the heroes before him?"

"He will shine brighter than any other star on the night sky…"

"Did anyone…call me?" Star said between sobs, entering the room and freezing as she saw the imposing figure before her. "What do you want?" she asked viciously, showing her blatant hate towards the ascended being…

"To transform your late friend into a forever shining omen of courage and boldness, so that he can always remind us…"

"I don't wanna know, mister," she said leaving, but Hyperion stopped her with his words.

"You mustn't be mad, Star Butterfly…All the deeds he had done will be completely erased…his faults won't stay on this ground." Waving his hand over the Council's deceased bodies, he had imbued them with the life force that Toffee had drained from them.

"They won't wake up soon, but when they do, they won't remember anything…" Hyperion didn't say anything else…he just lifted the coffin of Scott on his shoulder, forgetting to close the lid. He was just about to leave, when Marco interrupted him…

Marco was apparently unfazed by the whole battle…But he was just incapable of expressing his thoughts and feelings…He couldn't believe many things happening before him, so he just mechanically acted through this entire period…He was responding to all the stimuli around him with nothing but automated reflexes, only now managing to process everything…

"Can you…let us say our final goodbyes?"

"Certainly," the jolly giant said, placing the casket on the ground. Marco was the first to approach. He ignored Star's admiring glare, and went on to deliver his eulogy.

"I know, we had our differences at first…I know we didn't get along and I had done nothing but snap at you for the best of the time we spent together…But I can't deny what you did for me. You helped me see the world around me as more than what it was worth…To dig down into the essence of things and separate the core from the appearance…You helped me develop as I never thought with your challenges and your incredibly difficult to understand personality…And in the end, I don't think I had ever shown you how grateful I am...Better late than never, I believe." Marco left the room and went to Star, who was holding her head in her palms, sighing heavily. He said nothing, he just grabbed her attention by touching her shoulder and showed her the open coffin. She knew what she should do…Shaking, she got to her feet and walked towards Scott's resting place. She fell to her knees near him, letting her head rest on his chest, warm tears wetting his dusty trench coat. She had nothing to say, no words could express the cacophony of emotions she was invaded by…Star looked at his face for one final time. He looked so calm, almost smiling as he finally got the rest he so desperately needed after such a tumultuous life…lived by a human. Only now, did she finally see him as he was…She could see his emerald green eyes through his closed eyelids. His cheeks were two roses, contrasting with the paleness of the rest of his face…he was more alive in death, than he was when he was still roaming the earth.

She didn't know what went through her mind when she kissed him…She didn't care about how Marco was looking at her, baffled, nor how Hyperion was emotionlessly watching over…She just wanted to show him, that even after he died, he could finally succeed, after millennia. The hearts on her cheeks were glowing pink, as a strange light engulfed the two…It was blinding, but only Marco needed to cover his eyes…However, neither of them knew what was going on…The two were nothing more than a couple of stars fallen on the ground, conflating into a single being. The cyclamen body had a heart, exulting with life, whereas the blue carcass had nothing…But that wasn't for long…For every entropic imbalance there must be an equal force trying to restore the lost equilibrium. Shiny pebbles started migrating from the rose's core towards the indigo's resting soul…

The magic was over. With tears in her eyes, she wandered off towards the judging eyes of Marco, clenching her right fist on her left arm. Star couldn't think anymore. She could only feel. And no one knows what she felt when looking at Marco, he saw him not slightly infuriated, but scared and stupefied. He was pointing at the coffin…

"What…happened?" Scott asked, seeing him covered in cinders and lying in a coffin.

I just want to conclude this chapter, and this story as well, by thanking all of you who have come so far in reading my humble story…I know it has been long and we've come far, I know it is riddled with some plot holes at the beginning, but I genuinely enjoyed writing this…I feel like the things I had learned about symbolism and philosophy altogether had a positive effect on this story, as I reflected my newly gained knowledge through my writing…I will possibly write an epilogue, but I am not sure. Again, I thank you for sticking with me until this point, and I hope that you had thoroughly enjoyed my amateurish 'novel' ( in dimension, not in quality).


	19. Epilogue

Scott was looking around, baffled that he was alive…he was more amazed, though, that Star was already hugging him as he was staying in his now useless resting place…

"Wait, I was dying…I got my time-slowing spell going, than I…died. What did you do?"

"I don't know…I have no idea that happened. I am just glad you're alive," Star said, her candid tears filling the hole in his shirt. His wound was magically sealed…

"I believe I can shed some light on the situation," Hyperion said in his usual calm tone…"You see, when a person dies, their soul is removed from their physical body and scattered through the universe. Yours wouldn't have had the same fate, because I was not going to allow it, but this has no bearing on the situation at hand. Your friend, here…through power that is beyond my understanding of Mewmans, had managed to split her soul in half and somehow transfer it to you…"

"So you mean that…Star, you realized what you just doomed yourself to, right?"

"Not quite, but I am sure you'll be able to destroy my happiness with your explanation."

"Well…you destroyed the most indestructible omen of the universe…You had split your soul, therefore removing any binds from it. And since you shared it with me…"

"Ooooh, I see. This thing again…"

"I believe you owe some explanations to someone else, though," Scott said looking at Marco…However, he noticed his subtle gesture. Marco decided that he has had enough stress and drama for so much, under the sign of a fatidic attraction. He didn't even wait for Star to come to him. He cut open a portal to no-one knows where, and passed through it, leaving the relationship between the two of them shrouded with uncertainty.

"M-Marco," Star uttered to herself.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way Star…But you must know how painful it is."

"I don't blame him, Scott…I would've done the same, but I am surprised anyway."

"You're done with your little thingy?" Glossaryck interrupted their discussion. "Hyperion, here has to break something for you."

"Thank you, Glossaryck. Saturn, there is something you must know, about the "revival policy" so-to-speak. I…can't allow it. Under no circumstance, you can't live on this world…"

"Sorry, what?" Star and Scott asked at the same time, sharing a look of unending surprise.

"You have died, your soul was already vanished…you don't have any essence of your own inside…It's against the laws we had established for this universe and I am sorry, but you must come with me," he said opening a large portal behind me.

Scott got up from his coffin…He didn't want to comply. He had managed to defy the rules of existence and had finally won, after a series of unfortunate losses. However, he knew that Hyperion's word…was definitive. He had to succumb to his will, in spite of everything. A salutary thought crossed his mind, perhaps holding the key to his salvation…

"Hold on, just a sec. Can we…make a deal?"

"We could. But I am sure that you won't like what I have to offer in exchange for you to stay here…Do you still want to hear it?"

Scott looked at Star, and she glared back at him. His answer was unsurprising.

"Fire away, Hyperion!"

"Fair enough. I can let you stay here, as much as you want, do whatever you want, live life as you see fit. However, the second I call for your help, you will leave, no matter what you are doing, you will do whatever I want, without questioning it and you will never fail at accomplishing your mission, or our deal will fall."

"Specifically vague as always…May I make a counter offer?"

"Normally, I won't allow it. I will make an exception for you and your friend, though. Consider it the last act of kindness from my part."

"Here is what I propose. I become your tool. You can use me to do whatever you want, I won't question it, I won't fail…I will still be at your beck and call, so it's basically the same proposition, with nothing added so far. Here comes the twist, though. I don't want to affect this world, under your command. You leave this world alone, never intervening in its matters, leaving me and Glossaryck to watch it as we see fit."

"This is not fair. You request too much, and give less in return. Why would I accept it?"

"You didn't let me finish…I saw that your place in the Council is greatly disregarded, and the other are plotting against you all the time. Your kindness has lowered your credibility. I offer you a way to…even the odds."

"Hmm…" Hyperion sighed wondering if what the mortal boy said was holding any truth in it. "Proceed."

"You're a purely balanced being, therefore you can't help but make choices that do not tamper with your equilibrium…but I can. Every action you make me do, I can make it to restore the balance you need to maintain, while still making your views visible and obvious. Whereas you would've solely sent me in missions with no subtext whatsoever, I will be sent, under your order, in missions that subliminally impose your authority. Do you agree now?"

"Ingenious and determined as I've never seen you before, Saturn. Although, I disagree with your choice of terminology, I can't help but rejoice in your offer. Congratulations, you have convinced me," Hyperion replied offering his hand to seal the deal. Scott shook his hand, while both of them smiled to each other understandingly. And with that, the ascended being left the ruins of the castle, returning to his task.

"Ingenious and determined as I've never seen you before," Star teased him, with a wide smirk on her face.

"Haha, funny you," he replied chuckling. "Come, now, we gotta do something," he said grabbing her hand and opening a portal. "You're gonna fill everyone in, when they wake up, old man?"

"Count on me," Glossaryck replied.

The two appeared in the courtyard right over Toffee's cinders. Scott started digging through the demon's ashes searching for something. His eyes lighted up, when he found what he was looking for. He put the little half of the star in the sun's purifying rays. It was still glowing with the same wicked tint…Scott looked at Star, half smiling, half impressed her spell didn't destroy the lost part of her magic wand.

"Give me your hand," he said, as she complied. Scott put the star in her hand and pressed it firmly against her palm. "Now just empty your mind," he calmly whispered to her, while hugging her tight. She nested her head at his chest…their palms turned blue, glowing brighter than the sun above them, but just for a split second.

"There, all done," he said showing her the now yellow star, as if it were never tainted by Toffee's corrupting touch.

"Wait, how did you do that?"

"Let's just say that it's an ancient technique…a way to vilify evil's touch, discovered by our ancestors, but seldom used in our times."

Star put the half-star on her wand, reuniting the trinket on her wand. Before her very eyes, it changed appearance…Three hearts grew in a string on top of it, while the bat like wings morphed back to their original form, but they had golden streaks of feathers throughout them.

"New wand again?"

"A new Star, deserves a new wand, right?"

"I do now, don't I?"

The two laid down in the scorched field, over the monster's ashes. They looked at the broken down palace, especially at the revived members of the Magic High Commission who were contemplating the destroyed city.

"We're going to rebuild it all, aren't we?" Star asked.

"Yeah, we will… We'll make it our new home."

Meanwhile, Marco had already thrown himself on the bed…He didn't know what to do anymore. Before Star came into his life, he was just aimlessly getting by, just going with the flow…He didn't want to succumb to this anymore. He grabbed his phone, with a set purpose in his mind. He scrolled down to Jackie and started writing a text message he wouldn't have had the courage to write before:

"Jackie, you're free tonight? I feel like we have a lot to talk about."

Somewhere, in a dimension far away from all the events Star, Marco and Scott had taken part of, a black portal opened, a shadowy silhouette appearing. The man had white hair, wore a long dark cape and a strange kind of armor, resembling that the skeleton king wore…He had an enormous gauntlet on his right fist, while his left hand was missing completely. He was rather slender and young, despite his strange hair color…His eyes were completely black, despite still having an iris and a pupil. He smiled wickedly, showing his retracted gums that made his teeth look sharper than usual. His voice was rugged, burning through the ears of anyone who would've listened to it.

"So, this is the place I was doomed to? How peculiar…I thought even in the darkest of nights, I would see the shiny stars above me, everywhere I'd go, but it seems the putrid reign of good hadn't gone so far. It's still young, I see…Untaught and innocent…Just how I like it."

(And this would be my final note…I realized as I was writing this, that this is not an epilogue, per-say…More of a conclusion. Be that as it may, I would like to conclude my writing by saying this…You can never truly end something you care for.)


End file.
